Sharon Mccollam Acquires 9,000 Shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Stock

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) CFO Sharon Mccollam purchased 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.48 per share, for a total transaction of $103,320.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 567,051 shares in the company, valued at $6,509,745.48. This represents a 1.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE ACI opened at $12.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.86 and a 1-year high of $20.02. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 150.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.42.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.12). Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 0.08% and a return on equity of 45.59%. The firm had revenue of $24.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 850.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ACI has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Albertsons Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $17.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Albertsons Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 2,707.5% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 123,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,111,000 after buying an additional 119,455 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $388,089,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,330,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110,777 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth $2,858,000. Finally, III Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 78.9% in the fourth quarter. III Capital Management now owns 215,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,698,000 after buying an additional 95,000 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.