Albertsons Companies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ACI)

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 8,274 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 31% compared to the typical volume of 6,297 call options.

Albertsons Companies Trading Down 7.9 %

Shares of Albertsons Companies stock traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $19.86. The stock had a trading volume of 10,679,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,198,356. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.47. Albertsons Companies has a 1 year low of $17.00 and a 1 year high of $23.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.92.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.06. Albertsons Companies had a net margin of 1.30% and a return on equity of 44.70%. The business had revenue of $18.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.71%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Albertsons Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,196,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,138,000 after acquiring an additional 43,532 shares in the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $746,000. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Finally, Econ Financial Services Corp bought a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth $499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on ACI. UBS Group lowered their target price on Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Albertsons Companies Company Profile

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.