Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $13.31 and last traded at $13.7890, with a volume of 833690 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.45.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Albertsons Companies from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Albertsons Companies from $26.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $21.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Albertsons Companies from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Albertsons Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.31.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 2.8%

The company has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 42.75% and a net margin of 0.26%.The business had revenue of $20.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Albertsons Companies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.220-2.320 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Albertsons Companies, Inc. will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This is a positive change from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Albertsons Companies’s payout ratio is 212.50%.

Institutional Trading of Albertsons Companies

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Albertsons Companies by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,330,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,305,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110,777 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $388,089,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 11.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,013,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583,741 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 101.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,687,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,678,000 after purchasing an additional 5,873,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 11,130,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,109,000 after purchasing an additional 183,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.35% of the company’s stock.

Albertsons Companies Company Profile

Albertsons Companies, Inc (NYSE: ACI) is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, operating a diversified portfolio of grocery store banners. Founded in 1939 by Joe Albertson in Boise, Idaho, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. Its core business activities encompass the sale of fresh produce, meat, bakery items, deli offerings, pharmacy services, and general merchandise. The company’s retail operations are complemented by an in-house private-label program, featuring brands such as O Organics, Open Nature, and Lucerne, which cater to a range of customer preferences and price points.

Throughout its history, Albertsons Companies has pursued growth via mergers and partnerships.