Whitebox Advisors LLC Buys 81,413 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,357,682 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 81,413 shares during the period. Albertsons Companies comprises 0.7% of Whitebox Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Whitebox Advisors LLC owned about 0.23% of Albertsons Companies worth $25,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $311,232,000 after acquiring an additional 7,887,688 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585,899 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,170,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,978 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 38.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,669,000 after purchasing an additional 956,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 25.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,337,000 after buying an additional 924,519 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $19.13 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.45. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.80 and a 12 month high of $23.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACI. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.25.

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.