Brokerages Set Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) PT at $24.45

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.45.

ACI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $19.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49. Albertsons Companies has a 12-month low of $19.47 and a 12-month high of $23.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.07.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.51. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 68.02% and a net margin of 1.64%. The business had revenue of $18.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.40 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies will post 2.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is presently 21.52%.

Insider Transactions at Albertsons Companies

In related news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total value of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,877.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 50,241 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,877.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $2,035,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,433,793.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 112,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 13,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 51,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 182,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.