Short Interest in Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Rises By 6.5%

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,500,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the October 31st total of 10,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after acquiring an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,395,000 after buying an additional 36,154 shares in the last quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP now owns 2,664,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,629,000 after buying an additional 852,857 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,113,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 109.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 57,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 29,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Albertsons Companies stock opened at $19.33 on Wednesday. Albertsons Companies has a 1-year low of $17.80 and a 1-year high of $23.47. The firm has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.80 and a 200-day moving average of $19.46.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ACI. Melius upgraded shares of 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.25.

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.