Although it's a huge supermarket chain, Albertsons Companies has been a perennial second banana in the grocery industry in sales, following sales leader Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket chain. But that's about to change. On Friday the two supermarket giants announced they've signed a definitive agreement to merge into a megasupermarket company, in a deal Albertsons valued at about $24.6 billion. Albertsons stock rose Monday.
"Together, Albertsons Cos. and Kroger currently employ more than 710,000 associates and operate a total of 4,996 stores, Albertsons said in a news release.
Meanwhile, Albertsons stock outperforms its big brother on price performance, and on Monday ACI stock climbed to an 81 Relative Strength Rating, according to IBD Stock Checkup, putting it among the top tier of stocks.
Albertsons Stock Ratings Shine Overall
The new 81 RS Rating means that Albertsons stock has outperformed 81% of all stocks regardless of industry group, over the past 52 weeks. Market research shows that the market's biggest winners often have an RS Rating of at least 80 as they begin their largest climbs. Although some of its other rating shine, rival Kroger's RS Rating is just 72.
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Among Albertsons stock's other key ratings, its carries a strong 94 EPS Rating out of 99, according to MarketSmith. Its 89 Composite Rating puts it in the top 11% of all stocks on a group of IBD's five other key ratings. And in a show of unusual strength given recent market weakness, Albertsons stock has a B Accumulation/Distribution Rating. on an A+ to E scale. A B rating means institutional investors like ETFs and mutual funds are fairly heavy buyers of its stock.
Albertsons, which now operates under 20 banners nationwide, went public in June 2020 and Albertsons stock has risen steadily. From an IPO base low of 12.91 shortly after it went public, it's risen to close at 26.43 Monday, up 0.8% for the day. Last Thursday it shot up 11.5% on rumors of the proposed merger, ahead of the official announcement Friday.
Albertsons posted 12% earnings growth in the latest quarterly report, to $1 per share. Sales grew 10% to $23.3 billion. Albertsons plans to announce its fiscal second quarter results Tuesday before the market opens.
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Supermarket Giants Outshined By Smaller Rivals On Some Metrics
Albertsons stock holds the No. 9 rank among its peers in the Retail-Super/Mini Markets industry group, just ahead Kroger. Minimart and gas station operator Murphy USA is No. 1 and Casey's General Stores is No. 4 in the group.
When researching the best stocks to buy and watch, one good indicator is relative stock price strength.
This proprietary IBD Relative Strength Rating identifies market leadership by showing how a stock's price action over the last 52 weeks measures up against that of the other stocks in the IBD database.
