32,479 Shares in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Bought by Polymer Capital Management US LLC

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 32,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,596,000 after purchasing an additional 9,308,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,211,000 after purchasing an additional 428,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,213,000 after buying an additional 141,933 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.95 on Monday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.20. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $20.99 and a 200 day moving average of $19.78. The firm has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.33, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 2.73%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.