Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.58.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

ACI stock opened at $19.54 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.49. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $17.80 and a 1 year high of $23.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after buying an additional 36,154 shares during the period. Lubert Adler Management Company LP boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP now owns 2,664,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,629,000 after buying an additional 852,857 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 109.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 57,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 29,849 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 24.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 166,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,071,000 after acquiring an additional 32,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Company 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.