Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 1,034 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,374,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,547 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 52.9% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 7,873,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724,576 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 17.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,462,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,102,000 after acquiring an additional 825,983 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 1,601.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,729,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,807,000 after acquiring an additional 4,451,250 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 35.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,573,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,103 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $19.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.81. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.70 and a 52 week high of $23.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.55 and its 200-day moving average is $20.41.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 35.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Michael T. Theilmann sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,935,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 338,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,548,601.15. This represents a 22.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.25, for a total value of $4,427,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 300,577 shares in the company, valued at $5,786,107.25. This trade represents a 43.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ACI. Zacks Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

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.