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 published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $13.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $11.00 target price (down from $17.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Albertsons Companies from $20.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Albertsons Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.31.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of ACI stock opened at $12.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.70, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22. Albertsons Companies has a 12 month low of $10.86 and a 12 month high of $20.00.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $24.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.84 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 0.08% and a return on equity of 45.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.750-1.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Albertsons Companies will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 850.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sharon Mccollam bought 9,000 shares of Albertsons Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.48 per share, with a total value of $103,320.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 567,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,509,745.48. This trade represents a 1.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Morris bought 39,409 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.42 per share, with a total value of $450,050.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,092,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,481,557.52. This trade represents a 3.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 218,909 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,826. Insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ACI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 11.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,013,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,855,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583,741 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,179,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,258,000 after purchasing an additional 430,101 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,403,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,273,000 after purchasing an additional 43,087 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 2,036,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,694,000 after purchasing an additional 158,225 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 43.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,899,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,363,000 after purchasing an additional 578,401 shares during the last quarter. 71.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc is a U.S. food and drug retailer headquartered in Boise, Idaho. The company operates supermarkets, pharmacies and related retail businesses under banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, ACME, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Carrs and Haggen.

Its stores offer groceries, fresh produce, meat and seafood, bakery and deli items, household products, health and beauty products, and pharmacy services. Albertsons also provides private-label products, fuel at select locations, grocery delivery and pickup, digital shopping tools, and customer loyalty programs.

The company’s history traces to 1939, when Joe Albertson opened the first Albertsons store in Boise.