Albertsons Companies (ACI) Competitors

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) and Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) are related large-cap companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Does the media prefer ACI or COST?

In the previous week, Costco Wholesale had 107 more articles in the media than Albertsons Companies. MarketBeat recorded 117 mentions for Costco Wholesale and 10 mentions for Albertsons Companies. Albertsons Companies' average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat Costco Wholesale's score of 1.19 indicating that Albertsons Companies is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Albertsons Companies	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Costco Wholesale	76 Very Positive mention(s)	18 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ACI or COST?

Albertsons Companies has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Costco Wholesale has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ACI or COST more profitable?

Costco Wholesale has a net margin of 2.92% compared to Albertsons Companies' net margin of 1.18%. Albertsons Companies' return on equity of 37.92% beat Costco Wholesale's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Albertsons Companies	1.18%	37.92%	4.63%
Costco Wholesale	2.92%	30.48%	10.52%

Do analysts rate ACI or COST?

Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus target price of $24.06, suggesting a potential upside of 24.81%. Costco Wholesale has a consensus target price of $1,037.48, suggesting a potential upside of 9.95%. Given Albertsons Companies' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Albertsons Companies is more favorable than Costco Wholesale.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Albertsons Companies	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Costco Wholesale	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	19 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.66

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ACI or COST?

Costco Wholesale has higher revenue and earnings than Albertsons Companies. Albertsons Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Costco Wholesale, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Albertsons Companies	$80.39B	0.13	$958.60M	$1.64	11.76
Costco Wholesale	$254.45B	1.64	$7.37B	$17.63	53.52

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ACI or COST?

71.4% of Albertsons Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.5% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Albertsons Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Costco Wholesale shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ACI or COST a better dividend stock?

Albertsons Companies pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Costco Wholesale pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Albertsons Companies pays out 36.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Costco Wholesale pays out 29.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Albertsons Companies has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Costco Wholesale has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years.

Summary

Costco Wholesale beats Albertsons Companies on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.