Short Interest in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Drops By 9.6%

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,020,000 shares, a drop of 9.6% from the January 15th total of 8,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.21.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $20.64 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $21.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.41. The firm has a market cap of $11.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacific Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 3,052.0% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 799,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,711,000 after purchasing an additional 774,586 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,504,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 902,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,716,000 after purchasing an additional 162,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 46,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,000 after purchasing an additional 3,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.