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

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of analysts have commented on ACI shares. Melius raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI opened at $19.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $19.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.33. The company has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.47.

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

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACI. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,063,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,229,000 after buying an additional 592,711 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,213,000 after buying an additional 141,933 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,946,000 after buying an additional 1,585,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,239,978 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.