Short Interest in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Grows By 12.6%

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,610,000 shares, an increase of 12.6% from the August 31st total of 16,530,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $18.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.80 and a 52 week high of $23.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). The company 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 was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lubert Adler Management Company LP lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 109.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 57,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 29,849 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 40.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,054,000 after purchasing an additional 54,130 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 166.2% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 214,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,230,000 after buying an additional 133,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Privium Fund Management UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,247,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.54.

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.