Sei Investments Co. Acquires 354,176 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 296.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 473,624 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 354,176 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $9,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,232,000 after buying an additional 7,887,688 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,063,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,229,000 after acquiring an additional 592,711 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,213,000 after acquiring an additional 141,933 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,384,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,465,000 after purchasing an additional 522,926 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE ACI opened at $21.61 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.65. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $22.05.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Company Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company’s food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores.