Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Albertsons Companies Price Target to $21.00

Recently, analysts from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) revised their price target for Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI) from $22.00 to $21.00. This adjustment was highlighted in a research note released on Wednesday, which was reported by Benzinga. Despite the price reduction, RBC maintains an 'outperform' rating for the stock, indicating a positive outlook for potential performance.

The new price target from RBC suggests a possible increase of approximately 9.83% from Albertsons' last closing price. This indicates that RBC believes there is still room for growth in the stock.

Recent Analyst Ratings for Albertsons

A number of other financial analysts have also recently provided their insights on Albertsons Companies. For instance, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a 'market perform' rating on the stock in a report dated October 18. Meanwhile, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a 'buy' rating and set a price target of $27.00 on October 21.

Additionally, Telsey Advisory Group issued a ‘market perform’ rating with a target price of $27.25 on October 11. Notably, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective for Albertsons from $21.00 to $19.00, maintaining a 'market perform' status.

In a contrasting move, Melius upgraded Albertsons from a 'hold' rating to a 'buy' rating with an updated price target of $24.00, as reported on October 21. Currently, overall ratings show five analysts recommending a hold, while six suggest a buy, leading to an average rating of 'Moderate Buy' with a target price around $22.10, according to MarketBeat.com.

Current Stock Performance

On the opening day of trading following the downgrade, shares of Albertsons Companies started at $19.12. The company's debt-to-equity ratio stands at 2.58, with a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Albertsons has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 11.18, suggesting it is relatively affordable compared to its earnings.

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.85 and a 200-day moving average at $19.39. Over the past year, it has fluctuated with a low of $17.00 and a high of $23.47.

Financial Results

In its most recent earnings report released on October 15, Albertsons Companies posted an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.51, surpassing the analyst expectations of $0.48 by $0.03. The firm reported revenues of $18.55 billion, exceeding the expected $18.47 billion. This reflects a positive year-over-year revenue growth of 1.4%. The previous year during the same quarter, the company reported an EPS of $0.60.

Equities analysts forecast that Albertsons will achieve EPS of approximately 2.13 for the current fiscal year, indicating a continued focus on financial performance in the retail sector.

Institutional Investor Activity

Recently, several hedge funds have shown interest in Albertsons Companies. FMR LLC boosted its position by 88.1% in the third quarter, now holding 16,841,582 shares worth roughly $311 million, after acquiring an additional 7,887,688 shares.

Similarly, Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Albertsons by 22.8%, now owning over 8.5 million shares. Massachusetts Financial Services also added to its position, increasing its holdings by 25.1%.

This trend continued with Anson Funds Management LP, which raised its stake by an impressive 973.0%, acquiring over 1.19 million shares. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp also increased its investment by 38.7%. Currently, institutional investors collectively own 71.35% of Albertsons Companies' stock.

About Albertsons Companies

Albertsons Companies, Inc. operates a chain of food and drug stores across the United States. Their offerings include a wide variety of grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty items, pharmacy services, fuel, and more. In addition, Albertsons manufactures and processes food products sold in its stores, making it a prominent player in the retail grocery sector.

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