Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Lifted to Buy at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $5.10 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $3.80.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AMBP. UBS Group downgraded Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $5.00 to $3.75 in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $4.25 to $5.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.08.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Stock Performance

AMBP opened at $4.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.21, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of -30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.63 and a 200-day moving average of $3.67. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a 52-week low of $2.57 and a 52-week high of $4.26.

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

Ardagh Metal Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -285.71%.

Institutional Trading of Ardagh Metal Packaging

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 70.4% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 12,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 34.5% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 5,009 shares during the period. Finally, Gries Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the second quarter worth $77,000. 16.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.