Albertsons Companies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ACI)

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 34,823 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 228% compared to the average daily volume of 10,618 call options.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of ACI opened at $20.68 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.32. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $22.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ACI. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACI. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 88.1% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,063,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,229,000 after buying an additional 592,711 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,615,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,213,000 after buying an additional 141,933 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 22.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 25.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,239,978 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.