Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Lowers Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 155,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,852 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $3,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after buying an additional 36,154 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 19.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 108,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 17,902 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 37.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 24,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 6,770 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 36.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after buying an additional 11,884 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

ACI stock opened at $21.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $21.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.49. The company has a market capitalization of $12.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued 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. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ACI shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.