Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01), Briefing.com reports. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 56.01%. The business had revenue of $24.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ACI opened at $20.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.18. Albertsons Companies has a 12 month low of $19.33 and a 12 month high of $23.88. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Albertsons Companies news, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,016,877.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Anuj Dhanda sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $2,035,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 365,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,433,793.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 24,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $493,086.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 50,241 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,877.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 776,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,870,000 after buying an additional 51,590 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth $264,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Roth Capital upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.45.

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.