Versor Investments LP Buys 87,310 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 700,231 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 87,310 shares during the quarter. Albertsons Companies makes up about 2.6% of Versor Investments LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Versor Investments LP owned 0.12% of Albertsons Companies worth $15,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 73,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the first quarter worth $3,170,000. KCS Wealth Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the first quarter worth $1,192,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 122.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,234,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,600,000 after acquiring an additional 680,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 26.9% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.64% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $23.64. 4,875,530 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,840,696. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.14 and a twelve month high of $29.93. The company has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.08.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $24.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.89 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 82.79% and a net margin of 1.85%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 26th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 23.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.03.

About Albertsons Companies

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.