Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 24th

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 8th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12.

Albertsons Companies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.6% annually over the last three years. Albertsons Companies has a payout ratio of 25.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Albertsons Companies to earn $2.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.0%.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $19.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $22.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.33.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 18th. Melius Research raised 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.75.

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.