Traders Buy High Volume of Albertsons Companies Call Options (NYSE:ACI)

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 34,823 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 228% compared to the typical volume of 10,618 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on ACI shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 895 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.7% in the second quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC now owns 45,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of ACI traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $20.50. 4,412,905 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,763,169. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies has a fifty-two week low of $17.00 and a fifty-two week high of $22.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.35 and its 200-day moving average is $19.31.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

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.