Tucker Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 13,709 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,302,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887,688 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,131,000 after buying an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,946,000 after buying an additional 1,585,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trium Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth $23,678,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of ACI opened at $21.61 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $22.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.63.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

About Albertsons Companies

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.