Pecaut & CO. Invests $597,000 in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Pecaut & CO. acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 1,358 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ACI. Bank of America assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Citigroup began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE ACI opened at $21.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.62 and its 200 day moving average is $19.54. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.05.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio 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.