Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

ACI has been the subject of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered Albertsons Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $11.00 price target (down from $17.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.31.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $12.10 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.78. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $10.86 and a 52-week high of $20.00. The company has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 151.19, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.12). Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 0.08% and a return on equity of 45.59%. The company had revenue of $24.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Susan Morris purchased 39,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.42 per share, for a total transaction of $450,050.78. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 1,092,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,481,557.52. This trade represents a 3.74% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Mccollam purchased 9,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.48 per share, for a total transaction of $103,320.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 567,051 shares in the company, valued at $6,509,745.48. This trade represents a 1.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders acquired 218,909 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,826. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth $388,089,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 11.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,013,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,855,000 after buying an additional 1,583,741 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,360,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,040,000 after acquiring an additional 266,168 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 9.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,179,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,258,000 after acquiring an additional 430,101 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,403,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,273,000 after acquiring an additional 43,087 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc is a food and drug retailer that operates supermarkets, pharmacies and related omnichannel grocery businesses in the United States. Its stores offer fresh produce, meat and seafood, bakery and deli products, packaged groceries, household goods, health and beauty products, and pharmacy services. The company also provides online ordering, grocery delivery and pickup services through its digital platforms.

Albertsons Companies operates under a portfolio of well-known banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, ACME, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Pavilions, Carrs and Haggen.