Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, 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 price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.21.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ACI opened at $20.99 on Friday. Albertsons Companies has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $21.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $437,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 3,344.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 36,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after buying an additional 35,114 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 166,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after buying an additional 32,305 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after buying an additional 36,154 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.