Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $22.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Albertsons Companies traded as low as $19.84 and last traded at $20.09, with a volume of 2130921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.32.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.45.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ACI. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 194,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after acquiring an additional 76,494 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 79,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,706,000 after buying an additional 2,088 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Albertsons Companies by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 69,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after buying an additional 11,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 540,666.7% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 32,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 32,440 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.61.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 21.52%.

About Albertsons Companies

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.