Sound Income Strategies LLC Makes New Investment in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,646,000 after buying an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after acquiring an additional 36,154 shares in the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 109,901 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $1,906,000. Finally, Winthrop Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,011,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:ACI opened at $19.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.33. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $21.92.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies 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.