Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Stock

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) had its price target upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

ACI opened at $19.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.36. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Albertsons Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 2,948.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the second quarter valued at about $126,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the second 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.