Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 34,042 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Bleakley Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,042 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 109.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,542,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,919,000 after buying an additional 806,336 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,090,000. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 14,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 39.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 504,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,861,000 after buying an additional 142,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 14,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:ACI opened at $15.92 on Friday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $15.55 and a one year high of $22.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.25.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Albertsons Companies

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.