Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 9,187 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 13,314.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,256 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,187 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares during the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $746,000. K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after purchasing an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $433,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ACI. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI opened at $21.64 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $12.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.59 and its 200 day moving average is $19.53. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $22.05.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

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.