Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Price Target Raised to $22.00

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) had its price objective increased by Evercore ISI from $21.00 to $22.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

ACI has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America assumed 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup started coverage on Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, January 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of ACI stock opened at $21.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.49. Albertsons Companies has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $21.67.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,882,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $518,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,581,000. Pacific Point Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $248,000. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 3,052.0% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 799,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,711,000 after acquiring an additional 774,586 shares during 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.