Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 1.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 856,778 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,500 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $18,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. K2 Principal Fund L.P. raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 17.2% during the first quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 222,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,775,000 after purchasing an additional 32,700 shares during the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter worth $1,501,000. Carlson Capital L P acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter worth $2,575,000. Shell Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the first quarter worth $357,000. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 84.7% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,598,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,278,000 after acquiring an additional 733,000 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In other Albertsons Companies news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,877.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $2,035,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,433,793.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total value of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $20.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,529,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,719,354. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.05 and its 200 day moving average is $20.71. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.33 and a 1-year high of $23.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 56.01%. The firm had revenue of $24.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.39 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACI. Roth Mkm raised Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Roth Capital upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.45.

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.