Roth Capital Upgrades Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) to “Buy”

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) was upgraded by investment analysts at Roth Capital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Roth Mkm raised Albertsons Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price objective 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.45.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:ACI opened at $20.06 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.62. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $19.84 and a 52 week high of $23.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ACI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 9.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,144,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $754,026,000 after buying an additional 2,950,786 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $312,510,000. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,992,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,832,000 after buying an additional 283,100 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 4,401,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,233,000 after buying an additional 133,900 shares during the period. Finally, Segantii Capital Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Segantii Capital Management Ltd now owns 4,125,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,880,000 after buying an additional 790,207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

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.