Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.57, but opened at $20.60. Albertsons Companies shares last traded at $20.11, with a volume of 2,436,726 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup began 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, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.36.

Albertsons Companies Trading Up 2.4 %

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $21.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.97. The firm has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 225.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 316.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 446.0% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 1,780 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 340.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,919 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.