Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $17.00 and last traded at $18.51, with a volume of 14968868 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ACI. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.25.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.85 and a 200-day moving average of $19.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2,948.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $126,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $150,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2,243.9% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 8,594 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.