Bleakley Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lowered its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 117,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,042 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 109.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,542,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,919,000 after buying an additional 806,336 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,090,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 504,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,861,000 after buying an additional 142,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on ACI shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.31.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.7%

ACI stock opened at $15.92 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.25. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.55 and a 12 month high of $22.78.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $20.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.49 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 0.26% and a return on equity of 42.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.320 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 212.50%.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc (NYSE: ACI) is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company’s retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.