Scout Investments Inc. Has $20 Million Stock Holdings in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Scout Investments Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 869,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 194,726 shares during the quarter. Scout Investments Inc. owned about 0.15% of Albertsons Companies worth $20,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ACI. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 38,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 2,287 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 38,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 71,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 6,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,230,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Albertsons Companies

In related news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $2,035,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,433,793.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Albertsons Companies news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $2,035,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 365,297 shares in the company, valued at $7,433,793.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $20.07. The stock had a trading volume of 2,024,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,801,748. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.84 and a 52 week high of $23.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.31.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.51. The firm had revenue of $18.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.40 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 68.02%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on ACI shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.45.

About Albertsons Companies

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.