Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.45.

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $18.58 on Friday. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.80 and a 52 week high of $23.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The company has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $24.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.16 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 56.01%. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.26 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 21.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,510,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew 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 valued at $67,669,000 after acquiring an additional 956,744 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,337,000 after acquiring an additional 924,519 shares in the last quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 47.1% during the second quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP now owns 2,664,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,629,000 after acquiring an additional 852,857 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 546.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 954,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,849,000 after acquiring an additional 806,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.