Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Stock Price Down 6.5% – Time to Sell?

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP)’s stock price fell 6.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $2.98 and last traded at $2.96. 686,197 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average session volume of 1,389,555 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMBP shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.25 to $2.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $3.35 price target (down from $3.60) on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America cut shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $4.90 to $4.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $3.60 to $3.10 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.44.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Stock Down 9.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.34.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 1,760.00%. As a group, analysts expect that Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s payout ratio is currently -333.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMBP. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 292.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 8,180 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 16.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.