Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 51.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 474,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 495,673 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $8,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 37.1% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,269,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,239,291 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc CT raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 60.9% in the third quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 4,902,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,855,682 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 267.7% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,240,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631,048 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,388,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 914.9% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,301,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173,513 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:ACI opened at $17.46 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.80 and a 52 week high of $23.20. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. The company has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.45.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.05. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 38.00%. The firm had revenue of $19.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.080-2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on ACI. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.58.

Insider Activity

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Michael T. Theilmann sold 49,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.63, for a total transaction of $863,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 289,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,102,633.27. The trade was a 14.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc (NYSE: ACI) is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company’s retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.