Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Now Covered by Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock.

ACI has been the topic of several other research reports. Melius Research raised shares of Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $19.86 on Friday. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $21.92. The stock has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.55 and a 200-day moving average of $19.33.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 19,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 60,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.