Milestone Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 78,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,541,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ACI shares. Melius raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $20.03 on Thursday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $21.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.60 and a 200 day moving average of $19.34. 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 company has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

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.