Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ACI. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887,688 shares during the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,946,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585,899 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,170,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239,978 shares during the period. Anson Funds Management LP increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 973.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,190,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,079,246 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,669,000 after purchasing an additional 956,744 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI stock opened at $19.52 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.35. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.47. The company has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. Albertsons Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 2.46%. 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.