AlphaQuest LLC Has $2.22 Million Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 51.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 129,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 43,866 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Towle & Co. boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 674.2% during the third quarter. Towle & Co. now owns 339,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,940,000 after purchasing an additional 295,413 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,330,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,305,000 after purchasing an additional 5,110,777 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the third quarter worth $2,307,000. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the third quarter worth $2,955,000. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 8.4% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,360,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,336,000 after purchasing an additional 182,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ACI. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.31.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE:ACI opened at $15.74 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.55 and a 52 week high of $22.78. The firm has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 0.26% and a return on equity of 42.75%. The business had revenue of $20.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.320 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 212.50%.

Albertsons Companies Company 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.