Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,030,000 shares, a growth of 117.7% from the February 28th total of 9,200,000 shares. Currently, 4.8% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 6,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 47,232 shares of the company's stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 24,765 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.7 %

Albertsons Companies stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $22.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,031,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,444,611. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $22.18. The company has a market cap of $12.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.50. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $20.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.67.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 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 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. This is an increase from Albertsons Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Albertsons Companies's payout ratio is 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.50.

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.