Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.88 and last traded at $21.70, with a volume of 916621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ACI shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $20.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.52.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,310,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,875 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,150,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $513,596,000 after acquiring an additional 9,308,940 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $298,302,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 10,204,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,211,000 after acquiring an additional 428,506 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.