Citigroup Begins Coverage on Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI)

Research analysts at Citigroup started coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) in a report issued on Friday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 31.35% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ACI opened at $19.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.33. Albertsons Companies has a one year low of $17.00 and a one year high of $21.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The company had revenue of $18.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 earnings per share. Albertsons Companies’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.2% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,646,000 after buying an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,395,000 after acquiring an additional 36,154 shares during the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.4% in the third quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $1,906,000. Finally, Winthrop Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.