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

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

Several research firms have recently commented on ACI. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. &PARTNERS bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at $360,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 38.7% during the second 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 last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 3.7% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,917 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 22.6% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towerview LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Towerview LLC now owns 630,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,442,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $19.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.98 and its 200 day moving average is $19.35. The company has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted 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. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

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.