Norges Bank Buys New Shares in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,188,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,302,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 4,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.64. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $22.05.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACI. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.