Brokerages Set Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) PT at $22.75

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.75.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 83,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,648,000 after buying an additional 34,023 shares during the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,678,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% in the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $242,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of ACI traded down $0.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $19.62. 7,506,305 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,543,505. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.33. The stock has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.51. Albertsons Companies has a twelve month low of $17.00 and a twelve month high of $22.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

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.