Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Rating Increased to Buy at Melius Research

Melius Research upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $24.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ACI. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 report on Wednesday, October 16th. Melius upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.58.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 2.2 %

ACI opened at $18.94 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.77. Albertsons Companies has a fifty-two week low of $17.80 and a fifty-two week high of $23.47. The company has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 56.01% and a net margin of 1.41%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,160,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,951,000 after acquiring an additional 335,783 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,078,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,881,000 after purchasing an additional 85,707 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 8.0% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,923,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,236,000 after purchasing an additional 362,813 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,337,000 after buying an additional 924,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,426,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,669,000 after buying an additional 956,744 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.