Amalgamated Bank Increases Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 747.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,464 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 164,462 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $4,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 47,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 54.8% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 24,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 162,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.36.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.3%

ACI opened at $21.93 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 41.03% and a net margin of 1.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

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.