Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.51, but opened at $19.20. Albertsons Companies shares last traded at $18.68, with a volume of 6,949,791 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ACI. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Melius Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.25 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.10.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 3.6% in the second quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying 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 third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 45,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 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.