Candlestick Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 1,546,618 Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,546,618 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,376,000. Candlestick Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.27% of Albertsons Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,596,000 after buying an additional 9,308,940 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,211,000 after buying an additional 428,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings 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 worth $146,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,848 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ACI shares. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.38.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.13.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

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.