Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $114.03 Million Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,170,601 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,239,978 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $114,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ACI. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 50,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACI. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 18th. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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 Friday, October 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.58.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE ACI opened at $19.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.80 and a 52-week high of $23.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.53.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

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.