Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Sets New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $22.05 and last traded at $22.01, with a volume of 1252128 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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 decreased their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 4.2 %

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $20.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31.

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Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. Albertsons Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 7th. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. 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 presently 33.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.9% during the fourth 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 period. FMR LLC lifted 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 worth $513,596,000 after buying an additional 9,308,940 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,302,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 10,204,862 shares of the company's stock worth $200,423,000 after buying an additional 1,657,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,491,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,211,000 after buying an additional 428,506 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company's stock.

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.