MRP Capital Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

MRP Capital Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 27.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,459 shares during the quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 19.8% during 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 during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 11,884 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,646,000 after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 494.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 440,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,140,000 after purchasing an additional 366,331 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $21.27 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.54. 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 firm has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. 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.