Brokerages Set Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Price Target at $22.75

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

ACI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 18th. Melius upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACI. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the second quarter worth about $126,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the second quarter worth about $150,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 2,243.9% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 8,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $19.63 on Friday. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $23.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.33.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

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.