Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE:ACI) has been attracting the attention of several research reports lately. This retail giant is currently being scrutinized by major market analysts who are keeping a close eye on its recent developments and stock prices. As per their assessments, ACI has had a recent boost as Aigen Investment Management LP acquired almost 55,000 new shares during the last quarter, valued at over $1 million.
Several research firms such as Tigress Financial, Roth Capital, Telsey Advisory Group and Royal Bank of Canada have also produced reports evaluating their perspectives on ACI’s current position in the market. Recently, Tigress Financial has raised its rating from neutral to buy with a price objective reduction of $5 from $32 to $27. Similarly, Roth Capital reiterated its neutral stance while Telsey maintained similar market perform hold conviction but saw a $0.25 dip in their price target to $27.
Taking into account these various evaluations and other factors contributing to ACI’s stock movements, the company’s common shares opened at $20.18 on Tuesday, underlining considerable stability around its average position in comparison to years prior where it showed more volatility ranging from a one year low of $19.14 and high point at $31.29.
Looking at further quantitative fundamentals some analysis could be drawn based on relevant indicators, such as the fact that Albertsons Companies’ debt-to-equity ratio is 4.86 indicating significant leverage which might not play out well in unfavorable economic situations going forward that could pressure the retail industry along with others affected by the pandemic fallout.
In this light though we also need to note that there are two sides to every coin; considering its key metrics like quick ratio and current ratio stand at reasonable values of 0.18 and 0.74 respectively indicating fairly healthy liquidity positions when compared against peer groups prevailing averages for food retailers; meanwhile exhibiting high P/E ratio of 9.30 with a PEG ratio of 1.51 and beta of 0.57 suggest some potential indicators that could make the investment proposition attractive for investors looking to become a part of the Albertsons Companies bandwagon.
It’s worth noting that nine analysts, as per Bloomberg.com, have assigned hold ratings while three analyst firms see it as a buy at this stage. Consequently, shareholders are keeping their eyes glued to see how ACI fares down the road in terms of earnings reports and market behavior against COVID-19 turbulence that continues to compel growing concerns over consumers’ spending habits and overall economic stagnation perception amongst many stakeholders who observe trends far and wide alike.
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Albertsons Companies Inc.’s Investor Portfolio Undergoes Significant Changes while Analysts Assess Long-Term Potential Compared to Competitors
Albertsons Companies Inc. has recently undergone significant changes in its investor portfolio, with numerous institutional investors and hedge funds making alterations to their shareholdings in the company. The Vanguard Group Inc., for example, grew its stake in the supermarket chain by 95.1% in Q3 2016, with Nuveen Asset Management LLC growing its position by 143.0% over the same period. Hedge funds such as Segantii Capital Management Ltd and Alpine Associates Management have also taken positions in the company through purchases during Q4 of last year. However, insiders have sold a total of over 32k shares so far this month.
Despite Albertson’s growth and these recent changes, it’s still taking time for analysts to review the long-term potential of Albertsons Companies Inc.’s stock compared to competitors’. Tigress Financial upgraded ACI’s rating from “neutral” to “buy” while reducing its price objective from $32 to $27. This is followed by reports of Roth Capital holding a neutral rating for shares of ACI’s stock while Telsey Advisory Group maintains a “market perform” rating along with Royal Bank of Canada which suggests an outperform rating could be on the horizon soon enough.
Albertsons Companies posted earnings that surpassed market expectations on April 11th; despite predictions signalling that revenues would set at around $18.168bn, the quarter showcased an actual $18.27bn in revenue earned as well as reported earnings per share of $0.74 cents each – above what was forecasted earlier for EPS ($0.66). Currently, sell-side analysis shows predictions hovering at around $2.72 eps for Albertsons’ this year alone.
In regards to dividends paid out by ACI to shareholders who have claimed record before April were paid out on May 10th this year at a rate of .12 cents/share; calculated based on data from ex-dividend estimates made by the company, means that these dividends amount to a total of 48 cents/share annually, representing a 22.12% dividend payout ratio for Albertsons Companies Inc. Despite this exciting news surrounding its financials and investor portfolios, concerns about long-terms gains versus other competitors in the same industry still percolates among industry analysts all across the board.
