Short Interest in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Decreases By 22.7%

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,800,000 shares, a drop of 22.7% from the October 15th total of 13,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,440,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ACI. Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 11th. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.88. 2,230,395 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,362,057. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $17.80 and a 1 year high of $23.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 2,948.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 133.3% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $126,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $150,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.