Albertsons Companies’ (ACI) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a $21.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.58.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock opened at $17.74 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.45. Albertsons Companies has a 12-month low of $15.80 and a 12-month high of $22.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.61.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.05. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 38.00%. The firm had revenue of $19.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael T. Theilmann sold 49,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.63, for a total transaction of $863,870.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 289,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,102,633.27. The trade was a 14.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,330,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110,777 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $388,089,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,429,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,595,000 after acquiring an additional 5,159,905 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 101.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,687,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,678,000 after acquiring an additional 5,873,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 11,130,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,109,000 after acquiring an additional 183,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc (NYSE: ACI) is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company’s retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.