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

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.58.

Several analysts recently weighed in on ACI shares. Melius raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 11th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius Research raised 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887,688 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 22.8% in the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585,899 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,170,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,033,000 after buying an additional 1,239,978 shares during the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 973.0% during the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,190,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,994,000 after buying an additional 1,079,246 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 38.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,669,000 after buying an additional 956,744 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:ACI opened at $19.85 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.80 and a 52 week high of $23.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The company has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.