Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Stock Price

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $22.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price suggests a potential upside of 9.60% from the stock’s previous close.

ACI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America began coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:ACI traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $20.99. 2,364,511 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,821,495. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.40 and a 200 day moving average of $19.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. Albertsons Companies has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $21.67. The company has a market capitalization of $12.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 43,532 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after purchasing an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $746,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after acquiring an additional 36,154 shares during the period. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,999,000 after purchasing an additional 109,901 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is 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.