Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Receives $23.21 Average PT from Analysts

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.21.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $21.55 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. Albertsons Companies has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $21.75. The company has a market cap of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $687,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $223,000. Affinity Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 167.8% in the third quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 48,010 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the third quarter valued at about $9,023,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 12.9% during the third quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 19,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 2,175 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albertsons Companies

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.