Cinctive Capital Management LP Invests $3.92 Million in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 199,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,921,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth $298,302,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,131,000 after buying an additional 2,347,875 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its stake in 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,465,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,621,000 after buying an additional 1,294,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trium Capital LLP bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $23,678,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $22.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.88 and a 200 day moving average of $19.72. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $22.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

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.