Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Albertsons Companies has been upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the stock's potential.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Albertsons, with BMO Capital Markets raising it to $25.00 and Tigress Financial setting a price objective of $28.00.
• Despite a recent downgrade of its stock price target by JPMorgan Chase, the consensus rating from analysts remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $24.06.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.06.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:ACI opened at $20.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.24. Albertsons Companies has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $23.20.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 37.92% and a net margin of 1.18%. The firm had revenue of $24.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.35% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,374,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $821,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064,547 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company's stock worth $513,596,000 after acquiring an additional 9,308,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $298,302,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 10,204,862 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657,981 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock worth $186,211,000 after purchasing an additional 428,506 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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