Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Upgraded to Buy by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $5.10 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $3.80.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on AMBP. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $4.25 to $5.00 in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group lowered Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $3.75 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.08.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Stock Performance

AMBP opened at $4.14 on Thursday. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $2.57 and a fifty-two week high of $4.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of -29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.66.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a negative net margin of 1.02% and a positive return on equity of 114.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardagh Metal Packaging will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.66%. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -285.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. King Street Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the second quarter worth about $14,790,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 523.8% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,914,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446,997 shares during the last quarter. Sona Asset Management US LLC bought a new stake in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the first quarter worth approximately $4,288,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 48.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,325,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after purchasing an additional 433,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 422.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 319,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 258,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.93% of the company’s stock.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Company Profile

Ardagh Metal Packaging SA, together with its subsidiaries, supplies consumer metal beverage cans in Europe, the United States, and Brazil. Its products are used in various end-use categories, including beer, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, hard seltzers, juices, pre-mixed cocktails, teas, sparkling waters, and wine.