Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 50.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 77,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 80,028 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 130.4% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 32.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 61.7% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI stock opened at $17.12 on Tuesday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.80 and a 52-week high of $23.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.71.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $19.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.18 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 38.00% and a net margin of 1.06%.The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.080-2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ACI. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Albertsons Companies from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.58.

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.