Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 6,756,044 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 113% from the previous session’s volume of 3,164,452 shares.The stock last traded at $18.87 and had previously closed at $18.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.25 to $21.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.10.

Albertsons Companies Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.03. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.25% and a return on equity of 49.50%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, October 28th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 28th. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Albertsons Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $199,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 13,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 322,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,929,000 after acquiring an additional 25,868 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 23,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 2,549 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Albertsons Companies by 42.8% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 47,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 14,266 shares during the period. 71.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.