Milestone Asset Management LLC Invests $1.54 Million in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)

Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 78,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,541,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 299,947 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,891,000 after acquiring an additional 85,755 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $465,000 after buying an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $453,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ACI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Melius raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $20.03 on Thursday. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $21.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.34.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

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.