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 May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,880,000 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the April 30th total of 18,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,760,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 5.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACI. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.36.

Insider Transactions at Albertsons Companies

In other Albertsons Companies news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total value of $1,015,122.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 162,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.26% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company's stock worth $43,138,000 after buying an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $11,800,000. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $746,000. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $433,000. Finally, Econ Financial Services Corp purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $499,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE ACI traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,886,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,696,952. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. Albertsons Companies has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $23.20. The company has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.46. The company's fifty day moving average is $21.83 and its 200-day moving average is $20.80.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.59%.

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.