Albertsons Companies, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.12 (NYSE:ACI)

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 11th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of 0.12 per share on Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th.

Albertsons Companies has raised its dividend by an average of 68.7% per year over the last three years. Albertsons Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 18.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Albertsons Companies to earn $2.51 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 19.1%.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

ACI stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $19.58. 2,664,027 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,935,059. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $20.23 and its 200 day moving average is $20.95. Albertsons Companies has a twelve month low of $19.33 and a twelve month high of $23.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51. The business had revenue of $18.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.40 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 68.02% and a net margin of 1.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total value of $493,086.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,877.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total value of $2,035,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,433,793.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total value of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ACI shares. Roth Mkm raised Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital raised Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.45.

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.