Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,390,000 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the February 29th total of 14,390,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 255.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the second quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE:ACI traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $21.10. 2,740,529 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,602,704. The firm has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.50. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $19.88 and a 52 week high of $23.88. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $21.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 9th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.14. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 83.38% and a net margin of 1.71%. The company had revenue of $18.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 26th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.51%.

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.