Strs Ohio Reduces Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Strs Ohio decreased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI – Get Rating) by 17.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,187 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 317.0% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 26,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 20,073 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 400.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,059,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,648,088 shares in the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,606,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 1,929.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 68,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 65,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Capital LLC now owns 72,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,939,000 after purchasing an additional 21,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.58% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI opened at $21.34 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.05 and a 1 year high of $37.99. The firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.33.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 18th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.08. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 53.49% and a net margin of 2.27%. The business had revenue of $17.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 26th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 25th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 16.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on ACI shares. TheStreet cut Albertsons Companies from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Albertsons Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report on Friday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group cut Albertsons Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $37.00 to $27.25 in a report on Wednesday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $30.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.77.

Albertsons Companies Profile

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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.