Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $15.31

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $15.31.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ACI shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 target price (down from $20.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down from $22.00) on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Albertsons Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $18.00 to $11.00 in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $17.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 24th.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE ACI opened at $12.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 152.70, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.40. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $10.86 and a 1 year high of $20.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $12.14 and its 200 day moving average is $14.30.

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

Albertsons Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sharon Mccollam bought 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.48 per share, for a total transaction of $103,320.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 567,051 shares in the company, valued at $6,509,745.48. This trade represents a 1.61% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas M. Moriarty bought 170,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.51 per share, with a total value of $1,962,455.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 308,946 shares in the company, valued at $3,555,968.46. This trade represents a 123.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 218,909 shares of company stock worth $2,515,826. Company insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 valued at $255,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583,741 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,360,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,040,000 after acquiring an additional 266,168 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,179,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,258,000 after acquiring an additional 430,101 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.8% in 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 last quarter. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 2,321,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,407,000 after purchasing an additional 285,280 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.