Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Short Interest Update

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,500,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the October 31st total of 10,800,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 3.6% in the second quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.7% in the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 45,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ACI. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.25.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 1.0 %

Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 982,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,011,832. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $17.80 and a 1 year high of $23.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The business 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

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.