Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP lowered its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 59.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 265,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 391,176 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $4,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887,688 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 54.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 338,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,252,000 after acquiring an additional 119,331 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 262,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,856,000 after acquiring an additional 16,324 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 13.2% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 27,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,668,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,321,000 after buying an additional 118,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $19.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.80 and a 1 year high of $23.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $18.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.50.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Melius raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.58.

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.