Brokerages Set Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Price Target at $23.21

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.21.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ACI. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI opened at $21.55 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $19.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.38. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $21.75.

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

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,131,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,875 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887,688 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,302,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,211,000 after buying an additional 428,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,213,000 after buying an additional 141,933 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.