Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) Short Interest Update

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 130,510,000 shares, an increase of 26.0% from the February 13th total of 103,550,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 19,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.7 days. Currently, 9.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AMCR shares. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Amcor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upgraded Amcor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upgraded Amcor from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Macquarie raised Amcor from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Amcor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.46.

Amcor Price Performance

Amcor stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.85. 16,960,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,752,048. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.34. Amcor has a 1 year low of $8.80 and a 1 year high of $11.48. The company has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. Amcor had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 26.14%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Amcor will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.1275 per share. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Amcor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Amcor news, Director Achal Agarwal bought 10,000 shares of Amcor stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.10 per share, with a total value of $101,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 88,967 shares in the company, valued at $898,566.70. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amcor

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Amcor by 3,410.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Amcor by 247.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Amcor by 2,064.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3,551 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Amcor by 3,794.1% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 3,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Amcor by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. 45.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amcor

Amcor plc develops, produces, and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. The company operates through two segments, Flexibles and Rigid Packaging. The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries.