Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Research Coverage Started at Citigroup

Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on ACI. Melius raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

ACI stock opened at $19.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $19.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.33. Albertsons Companies has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $21.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACI. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 4.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 115,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,285,000 after acquiring an additional 4,492 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $415,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 62.0% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 66,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after buying an additional 25,358 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $687,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.