Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.15 Per Share

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 8th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12.

Albertsons Companies has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.6% annually over the last three years. Albertsons Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 20.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Albertsons Companies to earn $2.19 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.9%.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE:ACI traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.80. 9,866,902 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,238,360. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $19.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.31. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.47. The company has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) 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 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Melius 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 research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Telsey Advisory Group raised Albertsons Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.75.

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.