Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Albertsons Companies has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, signaling a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy average rating with a price target of $23.94, reflecting some market optimism.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a slight increase in revenue year-over-year, with an earnings per share of $0.55, beating estimates by $0.01.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

ACI has been the topic of several other research reports. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 target price (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays assumed coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 21st. They set an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.94.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of ACI stock traded down $0.43 on Monday, hitting $17.90. 10,051,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,331,688. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.48 and a 200 day moving average of $20.92. Albertsons Companies has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.Albertsons Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.030-2.160 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. West Oak Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 98.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,702 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 340.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently 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.