Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Invests $961,000 in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 41,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,023,000. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 88.4% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 1,504,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,598,000 after acquiring an additional 705,861 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 570,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,130,000 after purchasing an additional 87,017 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 21,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 117,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 12,205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.85.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $20.35 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09, a quick ratio of 0.19 and a current ratio of 0.85. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.88 and a 1 year high of $23.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.51%.

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.