Ethic Inc. Purchases 12,912 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,072 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,912 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the fourth 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 period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 446.0% during the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE ACI opened at $21.84 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.41. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on ACI shares. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.36.

Albertsons Companies 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.