ACI stock pullback seems complete as the company announced that it would work with the CDC to inject children with the EUA COVID vaccine.
Albertsons partners with CDC to make COVID-19 vaccines available to children
On November 3, 2021, Albertsons announced that in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the company is pledging to support the nationwide effort to vaccinate children for COVID-19 through school clinics, following the FDA recommendation of Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer (PFE)-BioNTech (BNTX) vaccine for children ages 5 to 11-years-old. As one of the CDC’s largest retail partners in this effort, Albertsons Cos.’ 1,730 pharmacies will be directing their vaccine supply and pharmacy staff to thousands of school districts to ensure school clinics are ready to administer pediatric doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the 28 million children who are now eligible. Vaccine appointments for 5 to 11-year-olds will be available at select Albertsons Cos. pharmacies in the coming weeks.
“We are committed to help provide children and their families quick, convenient, and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine, and right now, that means working with the federal government to administer school-based vaccination sites across the country,” Omer Gajial, Albertsons Cos. SVP of Pharmacy and Health. “We know it is particularly important to offer vaccines in a setting that kids and their parents know and trust, and we’re proud to play a role in helping protect children against COVID-19 by supporting school-based vaccinations.”
ACI stock price target raised to $33 from $20 at RBC Capital
On October 19, 2021, RBC Capital analyst Steven Shemesh raised the firm’s price target on ACI stock to $33 from $20 and kept an Outperform rating on the shares. The analyst cites the company’s Q2 earnings beat, and FY21 guidance raise, which marks five consecutive quarters of beats on sales, EBITDA, and earnings. Shemesh adds that he is optimistic about Albertsons’ “strong delivery” amid a challenging operating environment while noting that he expects consumption trends to remain elevated for longer than consensus pricing.
Albertsons Companies, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2021 Results
On October 18, 2021, Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) reported results for the second quarter of fiscal 2021, which ended September 11, 2021. Albertsons reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 64c versus the consensus estimate of 45c. The company reported Q2 revenueThe income statement provides a summary of a company's revenue and expenses over a specified period of time, typically a year or a quarter. It shows the company's total revenue, th... of $16.51B versus the consensus estimate of $15.81B.
Second Quarter of Fiscal 2021 Highlights
- Identical sales increased 1.5%; on a two-year stacked basis identical sales growth was 15.3%
- Digital sales increased 5%; on a two-year stacked basis digital sales growth was 248%
- Net income per Class A common share of $0.52
- Adjusted net income per Class A common share of $0.64
- Net income of $295 million; Adjusted net income of $370 million
- Adjusted EBITDA of $965 million
- Increased quarterly common stock dividend by 20% to $0.12 per share
“We are pleased with our second-quarter results as we continue to execute our transformation strategy. The favorable consumer backdrop together with our focus on in-store excellence, accelerating our digital and omnichannel capabilities, increasing productivity, and strengthening our talent and culture, are driving increased identical sales and improved performance,” said Vivek Sankaran, CEO. “Based on this strong performance, today we announced a 20% increase to our quarterly dividend and have raised our fiscal year 2021 outlook.”
ACI stock technical analysis
Both the short-term and long-term trends are positive. This is a very positive sign. Although ACI has an excellent technical rating, the quality of the presented setup is not ideal at the moment. Price movement has been a little bit too volatile to find an excellent entry and exit point. It is probably a good idea to wait for a consolidation first. Click here to sign up for email alerts on when ACI stock is a good entry.
