Okabena Investment Services Inc. Reduces Stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI

Okabena Investment Services Inc. reduced its stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 78.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,613 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,509 shares during the quarter. Okabena Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $388,089,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 101.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,687,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,678,000 after buying an additional 5,873,759 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,429,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,595,000 after buying an additional 5,159,905 shares during the period. 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 worth $675,305,000 after buying an additional 5,110,777 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,749,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,546,000 after buying an additional 2,519,432 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE:ACI opened at $14.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.06. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 46.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.40. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.81 and a 52 week high of $22.78.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 212.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ACI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.31.

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.