LPL Financial LLC Buys 67,618 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 495.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 81,271 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 67,618 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI opened at $21.13 on Thursday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $23.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.93.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ACI shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.36.

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.