Analysts Set Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) PT at $24.36

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.36.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI opened at $21.68 on Friday. Albertsons Companies has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $23.20. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 41.03% and a net margin of 1.19%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 36.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Omer Gajial sold 47,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.46, for a total transaction of $1,015,122.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 162,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,488,730.74. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. WealthCollab LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 446.0% during the fourth quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.