Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.51, but opened at $19.20. Albertsons Companies shares last traded at $18.68, with a volume of 6,949,791 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ACI shares. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Melius upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.14.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.40.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACI. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 2,948.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,801 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the second quarter worth about $126,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the second quarter worth about $150,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2,243.9% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 8,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 8,594 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.