Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 8,650 Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,650 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $298,302,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $513,596,000 after acquiring an additional 9,308,940 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $713,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,465,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trium Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $23,678,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:ACI opened at $21.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.19 and a 200 day moving average of $19.97.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.36.

Albertsons Companies Profile

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.