Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Albertsons Companies' share price increased from $16.95 to $18.45 after the announcement of a new dividend of $0.15 per share, set to be paid on November 7th to investors of record as of October 24th.
• The company currently has a dividend yield of 3.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 36.59%, suggesting a strong return for shareholders.
• Analysts have generally rated the stock positively, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $23.63, following recent upgrades from several firm ratings, including UBS raising their price objective to $27.00.

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $16.95, but opened at $18.45. Albertsons Companies shares last traded at $18.76, with a volume of 6,246,559 shares. The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, October 24th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on ACI shares. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 21st. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised Albertsons Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $27.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.63.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.68 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%.The business's revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Matauro LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $175,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 18.7% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 11,874 shares of the company's stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.9% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 160,900 shares of the company's stock worth $3,461,000 after buying an additional 3,020 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 8.7% during the second quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 21,506 shares of the company's stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 1,723 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 34.9% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 344,848 shares of the company's stock worth $7,418,000 after buying an additional 89,281 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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