Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Now Covered by Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) in a report released on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock.

ACI has been the topic of several other reports. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $27.25 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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 research note on Wednesday. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.09.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $19.49 on Friday. Albertsons Companies has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $23.47. The company has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.87 and a 200 day moving average of $19.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.07%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,841,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,232,000 after purchasing an additional 7,887,688 shares in the last quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 22.8% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 8,546,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,946,000 after buying an additional 1,585,899 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,170,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,033,000 after buying an additional 1,239,978 shares during the period. Anson Funds Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 973.0% in the third quarter. Anson Funds Management LP now owns 1,190,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,079,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 38.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,669,000 after acquiring an additional 956,744 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.