Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Short Interest Update

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,530,000 shares, an increase of 32.6% from the August 15th total of 12,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,940,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $27.25 price target on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Price Performance

NYSE:ACI traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $18.86. 2,764,620 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,003,723. The firm has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.22. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.80 and a 52 week high of $23.62.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $24.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.16 billion. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 56.01% and a net margin of 1.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Albertsons Companies by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,160,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $710,951,000 after purchasing an additional 335,783 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $312,510,000. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,078,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,881,000 after buying an additional 85,707 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Albertsons Companies by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,923,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,236,000 after buying an additional 362,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Albertsons Companies by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,337,000 after buying an additional 924,519 shares in the last quarter. 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.