IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,571 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,224 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 540,666.7% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 32,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 32,440 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 0.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 691,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares during the period. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies in the first quarter valued at $1,147,000. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 31.8% during the first quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 58,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 14,013 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

ACI traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $20.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,553,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,806,423. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.19. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.84 and a 1 year high of $23.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.80 and its 200 day moving average is $21.56. The stock has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.50.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 21.52%.

About Albertsons Companies

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.