Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the target of a large 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 4.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $27.25 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Albertsons Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,160,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $710,951,000 after purchasing an additional 335,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $312,510,000. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% in the first 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 during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,923,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,236,000 after buying an additional 362,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,624,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,337,000 after acquiring an additional 924,519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Stock Down 1.0 %

Albertsons Companies stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Monday, hitting $18.86. 2,764,620 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,003,723. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $19.76 and its 200 day moving average is $20.22. Albertsons Companies has a 52 week low of $17.80 and a 52 week high of $23.62. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.46, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.49.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $24.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.16 billion. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.41% and a return on equity of 56.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts predict that Albertsons Companies will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 21.52%.

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.