Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE: ACI – Get Rating) benefited from a significant drop in short-term interest in April. As of April 30, there was short interest totaling 6,950,000 shares, a decline of 19.2% from the April 15 total of 8,600,000 shares. About 7.5% of the stock’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,440,000 shares, the day-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Separately, Executive Vice President Anuj Dhanda sold 29,202 shares in a trade dated Friday, April 22. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.26, for a total transaction of $942,056.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 282,160 shares of the company, valued at $9,102,481.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, available on the SEC’s website. Additionally, CAO Robert Bruce Larson sold 15,746 shares of the company in a trade that took place on Wednesday, April 27. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.50, for a total value of $495,999.00. As a result of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 115,241 shares of the company, valued at approximately $3,630,091.50. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,035 shares of the company valued at $2,055,138 during the last quarter. 1.30% of the shares are currently held by insiders of the company.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently changed their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Albertsons Companies during Q1 valued at $33,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in Q4 worth $54,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in Q1 worth $77,000. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in Q4 worth $93,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in Q4 worth $104,000. 62.12% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of ACI were down $2.14 on Wednesday, hitting $27.10. 3,990,097 shares of the company were traded, against an average volume of 2,452,577. Albertsons Companies has a 52-week low of $18.60 and a 52-week high of $37.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s fifty-day simple moving average is $32.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.90.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI – Get Rating) last released quarterly results on Tuesday, April 12. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.75 for the quarter, beating analyst consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.10. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 79.21% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company posted revenue of $17.38 billion in the quarter, versus analyst estimates of $16.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company achieved EPS of $0.60. Albertsons Companies quarterly revenue increased 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect Albertsons Companies to post earnings per share of 2.7 for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 10. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 26 received a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a dividend of $0.48 on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 25. The Albertsons Companies’ dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.96%.

Several stock analysts have weighed in on the company. Goldman Sachs Group raised its price target on Albertsons Companies from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a Wednesday, April 13 report. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its price target on Albertsons companies from $40.00 to $42.00 in a Thursday, April 7 report. Zacks Investment Research has upgraded Albertsons’ companies from a “Strong Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating and set a target price of $38.00 for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 15. Tigress Financial raised its price target on Albertsons companies from $27.00 to $32.00 in a Friday, April 29 report. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Albertsons companies from $33.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a Wednesday, April 13 report. Two analysts have assigned the stock a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned the company a buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.79.

Company Profile of Albertsons Companies (Get a rating)

Albertsons Companies, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates grocery stores and pharmacies in the United States. The Company’s food and drug stores offer groceries, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmaceuticals, fuel and other items and services. As of February 27, 2021, it operated 2,277 stores under various banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen, Kings Food Markets and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market; and 1,727 pharmacies, 1,313 branded in-store cafes, 400 adjacent fuel centers, 22 distribution centers and 20 manufacturing facilities, as well as various digital platforms.

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