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

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 34,823 call options on the company. This is an increase of 228% compared to the typical volume of 10,618 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albertsons Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ACI. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Albertsons Companies by 9.2% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,117,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,646,000 after buying an additional 94,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 670,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,395,000 after acquiring an additional 36,154 shares during the last quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. boosted its position in shares of Albertsons Companies by 68.4% during the 3rd quarter. K2 Principal Fund L.P. now owns 270,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 109,901 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies during the third quarter worth about $1,906,000. Finally, Winthrop Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Albertsons Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. 71.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albertsons Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

ACI opened at $20.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.40 and a 200 day moving average of $19.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. Albertsons Companies has a 12 month low of $17.00 and a 12 month high of $22.71. The company has a market cap of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51.

Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. Albertsons Companies had a return on equity of 49.50% and a net margin of 1.25%. The firm had revenue of $18.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Albertsons Companies will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Albertsons Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Albertsons Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Albertsons Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ACI. Melius Research raised Albertsons Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Albertsons Companies in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Albertsons Companies from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Albertsons Companies from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

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.