Royal Bank Of Canada Reaffirms Outperform Rating for Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI)

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “outperform” rating on Albertsons Companies with a $13 price target, implying 11.25% upside from the prior close. However, the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a $15.31 average target.
• Albertsons shares traded at $11.69, near the lower end of their 52-week range. The company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.42 missed estimates of $0.54, although revenue of $24.94 billion slightly exceeded expectations.
• Company insiders recently purchased shares worth approximately $2.5 million, including significant buys by the executive vice president and CEO. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the stock.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $13.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.25% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $11.00 target price (down from $17.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $20.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.31.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of ACI stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $11.69. The stock had a trading volume of 858,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,613,986. Albertsons Companies has a one year low of $10.86 and a one year high of $20.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $12.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.36, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.40.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.54 by ($0.12). Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 0.08%.The firm had revenue of $24.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Thomas Moriarty acquired 170,500 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.51 per share, with a total value of $1,962,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 308,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,555,968.46. This represents a 123.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Morris acquired 39,409 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.42 per share, with a total value of $450,050.78. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,092,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,481,557.52. This represents a 3.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired 218,909 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,826 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 11.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,013,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,855,000 after buying an additional 1,583,741 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,179,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,258,000 after buying an additional 430,101 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,403,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,273,000 after buying an additional 43,087 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 14.0% during the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 2,321,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,407,000 after buying an additional 285,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 53.4% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,209,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,896,000 after buying an additional 769,503 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc is a U.S. food and drug retailer headquartered in Boise, Idaho. The company operates supermarkets, pharmacies and related retail businesses under banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, ACME, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Carrs and Haggen.

Its stores offer groceries, fresh produce, meat and seafood, bakery and deli items, household products, health and beauty products, and pharmacy services. Albertsons also provides private-label products, fuel at select locations, grocery delivery and pickup, digital shopping tools, and customer loyalty programs.

The company's history traces to 1939, when Joe Albertson opened the first Albertsons store in Boise.