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

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.36.

ACI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of ACI opened at $21.19 on Friday. Albertsons Companies has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.20. The company has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.85.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Albertsons Companies

In other news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,358 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 446.0% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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