Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,020,000 shares, a decline of 9.6% from the January 15th total of 8,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 3,052.0% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 799,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,711,000 after purchasing an additional 774,586 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,504,000. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 902,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,716,000 after purchasing an additional 162,018 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 46,449 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 3,310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE ACI opened at $20.81 on Tuesday. Albertsons Companies has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $21.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.94 and a 200-day moving average of $19.40. The firm has a market cap of $12.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Melius Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.21.

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.