Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Trading Down 3%

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)’s stock price traded down 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $18.30 and last traded at $18.30. 1,444,425 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 2,994,242 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.76 and its 200 day moving average is $20.22.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $24.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 21.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,160,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,951,000 after acquiring an additional 335,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,510,000. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,078,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,881,000 after buying an additional 85,707 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 8.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,923,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,236,000 after buying an additional 362,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,337,000 after buying an additional 924,519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.