Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Given New $19.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $24.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 0.63% from the company’s previous close.

ACI has been the topic of several other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.10.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of ACI opened at $19.12 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $23.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 3,366 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 166.2% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 214,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,230,000 after purchasing an additional 133,715 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2,948.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 76.4% during the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 20,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 8,775 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the second quarter valued at $360,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.