Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Announces Earnings Results

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 58.34%. The company had revenue of $24.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

ACI opened at $20.19 on Thursday. Albertsons Companies has a twelve month low of $19.33 and a twelve month high of $23.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ACI. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $312,510,000. Segantii Capital Management Ltd increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 4,125,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,880,000 after purchasing an additional 790,207 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 84.7% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,598,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,278,000 after purchasing an additional 733,000 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 88.4% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 1,504,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,598,000 after purchasing an additional 705,861 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,404,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,305,000 after purchasing an additional 692,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.