Albertsons Companies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ACI)

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 20,351 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 472% compared to the average daily volume of 3,559 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Mkm raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $19.87 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $19.47 and a 52-week high of $23.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.84.

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

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.52%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

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

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.