Short Interest in Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) Grows By 49.6%

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 67,200,000 shares, a growth of 49.6% from the November 30th total of 44,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 11,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMCR shares. UBS Group upgraded Amcor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Macquarie raised shares of Amcor from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Amcor from $10.50 to $10.80 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised Amcor from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amcor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.20.

Amcor Stock Performance

NYSE:AMCR traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $9.32. The stock had a trading volume of 712,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,863,681. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.49. The stock has a market cap of $13.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.29. Amcor has a twelve month low of $8.78 and a twelve month high of $11.48.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.16. Amcor had a return on equity of 25.60% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Amcor will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Amcor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.1275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. This is a positive change from Amcor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Amcor’s dividend payout ratio is 96.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amcor

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Amcor by 3,410.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amcor in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amcor during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amcor by 3,794.1% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 3,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Amcor by 38.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 4,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.14% of the company’s stock.

Amcor Company Profile

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.