Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 21.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 26,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,070 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 134.6% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 23,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 13,749 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,668,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,321,000 after acquiring an additional 118,855 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 338,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,252,000 after acquiring an additional 119,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887,688 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:ACI opened at $21.61 on Monday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.65. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $22.05. The firm has a market cap of $12.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

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.