Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Short Interest Update

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,640,000 shares, a decline of 16.9% from the March 15th total of 20,030,000 shares. Approximately 4.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Albertsons Companies by 108.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its holdings 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 valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 891 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.25. 596,012 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,676,137. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $23.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $12.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 44.70% and a net margin of 1.30%. The firm had revenue of $18.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ACI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $26.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.38.

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.