Short Interest in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Rises By 20.9%

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 13,900,000 shares, a growth of 20.9% from the November 15th total of 11,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $19.50 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.38.

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

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.7% in the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 45,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ACI. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.25 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Melius Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.09.

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.