If you’re searching for the stock price of Albertsons? The answer is yes; their stock symbol is $ACI. With all the different names, you might think they’re just another supermarket store in the long list of grocers feeding hungry Americans. But you’re mistaken. Grocery giant Albertsons is ranked 53rd in the Fortune 500’s list of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue. They booked $61 billion in sales in 2019 and plan to list on the NYSE. But the million or billion-dollar question remains: should you buy Albertsons stock?
Chart by TradingView
Candlesticks eBook & Wallpapers
Table of Contents
Albertsons Stock (ACI) Stock Introduction
Operating under 20 banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Carrs and Haggen; if you want it, they got it.
Albertsons Companies, Inc. offers a variety of baked goods, beverages, baby care, spices, dairy, fruits, vegetables, meat, snacks, canned goods, and pharmacy and health care products.
Like other companies, they’ve gone online. Consumers can scroll and shop from the comfort of their PJs. Albertsons stock would probably do well in these unprecedented times.
Check out our stock trading service for more information on learning to trade from home.
Albertsons Stock History
With 2,269 stores and 267,000 employees, Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket chain in North America after Kroger, which has 2,764 stores.
In 2013, a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management, bought Albertsons. Fast-forward two years later, Albertson’s bought Safeway for $9.2 billion.
As a result, the entire Albertsons empire is doing business under 20 different names—including Safeway, Albertsons, Acme, Haggen, Jewel-Osco, and Vons, to name a few.
COMPANY |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| DESCRIPTION | Trade Ideas provides powerful tools like real-time market scanning, AI-driven trade signals, customizable alerts, advanced charting capabilities, and time-saving data visualization | Barchart.com is the leading provider of real-time or delayed intraday stock and commodities charts and quotes. Track and analyze your investments and keep tabs on your portfolio | FinViz is an online stock screening, research, and visualization platform that offers various trading tools on a single platform. Solid scanner for traders or investors |
| HIGHLIGHTS | Trade smarter • Trade faster • Ease of use • Artificial intelligence • Real-time scanning • Customizable Trade Ideas > | Real-time quotes • Equities scanner • Ease of use • Track your investments • Analyze portfolio Barchart > | Stock screener • Powerful research tool • Heat map • Ease of use • Financial visualizations Finviz > |
According to USEC filings, Albertsons ranks first or second in market share in two-thirds of the 121 areas in which it operates.
Furthermore, they’ve seen a revenue increase from $60 billion in 2018 to $61 billion in 2019. What makes the numbers even more impressive is the net income realized in 2019. In 2018, they only realized a net income of $46 million from $61 billion in revenue. Whereas in 2019, they realized a whopping $400 million.
But still, this only reflects a profit margin of 0.8%, which is a meager margin even by grocery-industry standards. To their credit, though, they’ve significantly reduced their debt.
At the end of November 2019, the company had about $8.34 billion in net debt. This may seem like a lot, but it was down from $10.52 billion the previous year.
A History of Failed IPOs
Cerberus, the New York-based private equity firm, has been seeking an exit for years. In 2015, the grocery chain filed for an IPO to raise close to $1.7 billion.
Unfortunately, they pulled the plug due to a lack of market interest in retail stocks. It also tried to go public through a deal with Rite Aid.
In 2018, the grocer attempted to go public by acquiring much of the drugstore chain Rite Aid in a $24 billion merger. The deal was abandoned due to investor pushback.
Albertsons Refiles for an IPO
Once again, Cerberus filed for an initial public offering on March 6th, 2020, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Their draft “S-1” registration statement revealed an offering of $100 million in common stock and $100 million in convertible preferred shares.
The SEC it officially approved an IPO that values Albertsons around $2 billion. The company is listed under the ticker symbol “ACI ” for those curious about buying shares.
The company’s S-1 states that Albertsons won’t receive any proceeds from the offering. Rather, selling shareholders, including private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, can cash out their investments.
According to Bloomberg, the largest listing was by Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., which raised a hefty $435 million.
Stock Signals & Alerts
Alternatives to Albertsons Stock
Are there any alternatives to Albertsons stock? Industry experts predict online grocery sales will capture 20% of total grocery retail by 2025. Put another way, they are expected to reach a mind-blowing $100 billion in consumer sales, according to a study by the Food Marketing Institute.
In 2019, Walmart—selling more groceries in U.S. stores than any other retailer—worked hard to surpass Amazon as the nation’s leading online grocery seller.
However, Amazon recently acquired Whole Foods, which puts them toe and toe in the battle for dominance. In no uncertain terms, online retailers like Walmart and Amazon dominate the online retail market. This couldn’t be more true since we’re not allowed to leave the house.
Alternatively, if you’d rather invest in a brick-and-mortar store, you could consider purchasing shares in the largest supermarket chain in North America, Kroger.
Honestly, Kroger is one of the country’s best companies and best-kept secrets. To illustrate, out of all the stocks with a market capitalization of over $10 billion, only about 12% have gone up in 2020.
Surprisingly, less than 5% have outperformed Kroger stock. Despite the rough start to 2020, Kroger has gained a healthy 5.6%. And even after their gains, KR stock still looks affordable. Food for thought if you’re looking to invest in grocery store stocks. Before you pull the trigger on anything, check out Atom Finance.
Opportunities for Albertsons Stock
Despite its national scale, it has yet to tap one competitive but lucrative market: The Southeastern U.S. market. This could be a significant growth opportunity for Albertsons.
Even though they are listing in a weak stock market again, the grocery industry will stand the test of time. Humans need to eat.
Coupled with powerhouse Berkshire Hathaway recently disclosing an equity stake in Kroger, prospective investors are on high alert for the upcoming listing.
Final Thoughts
To answer your question, whether or not you should buy Albertsons stock? I answer this: Do your homework, study the fundamentals, and look at alternatives. The need to eat will not be disappearing anytime soon.
But, as online retailers like Amazon dominate the retail market, traditional brick-and-mortar supermarkets might see their profits decline.
For these reasons, keeping one ear to the ground and researching is a good idea. Do I think investing in the food industry is a good idea? Yes. Do I think it should be Albertsons? That’s for you to decide.
