River Road Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,361 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $5,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Burren Capital Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,560,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth $318,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $15,544,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 109,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ACI shares. 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.43.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $21.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $21.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

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.