Albertsons Companies’ (ACI) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group restated their outperform rating on shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $26.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ACI. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.75.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

ACI stock opened at $19.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.33 and its 200-day moving average is $19.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,646,000 after buying an additional 94,300 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the third quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after purchasing an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the third quarter worth about $1,906,000. Finally, Lubert Adler Management Company LP increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 47.1% in the second quarter. Lubert Adler Management Company LP now owns 2,664,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,629,000 after purchasing an additional 852,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.