Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.45.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ACI. Roth Mkm upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $312,510,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,669,000 after purchasing an additional 956,744 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,337,000 after purchasing an additional 924,519 shares during the period. Lubert Adler Management Company LP increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 47.1% in the second quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP now owns 2,664,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,629,000 after purchasing an additional 852,857 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 546.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 954,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,849,000 after purchasing an additional 806,800 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE ACI opened at $20.86 on Monday. Albertsons Companies has a 12 month low of $19.25 and a 12 month high of $23.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.86 and a 200-day moving average of $20.46. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $24.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.16 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 56.01% and a net margin of 1.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.52%.

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.