Albertsons Companies, Inc. $ACI Shares Bought by Carlson Capital L.P.

Carlson Capital L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) by 138.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 119,200 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,200 shares during the period. Albertsons Companies makes up approximately 0.6% of Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Carlson Capital L.P.’s holdings in Albertsons Companies were worth $2,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ACI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $388,089,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 101.0% during the 4th 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% during the 4th 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. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,330,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,305,000 after buying an additional 5,110,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 113.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,749,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,546,000 after buying an additional 2,519,432 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Albertsons Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $20.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.31.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $11.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $14.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 144.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.42. Albertsons Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.86 and a 1 year high of $20.02.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.12). Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 0.08%.The firm had revenue of $24.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 850.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albertsons Companies news, CEO Susan Morris bought 39,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.42 per share, with a total value of $450,050.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,092,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,481,557.52. This represents a 3.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas M. Moriarty bought 170,500 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.51 per share, with a total value of $1,962,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 308,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,555,968.46. The trade was a 123.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 1.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Albertsons Companies

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.