Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 67,200,000 shares, an increase 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. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amcor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMCR. Larson Financial Group LLC grew 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,319 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amcor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amcor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Amcor by 3,794.1% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 3,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Amcor by 38.7% in the 2nd 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 and hedge funds own 45.14% of the company’s stock.

Amcor Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AMCR stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $9.31. 1,368,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,866,258. The stock has a market cap of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.49. Amcor has a 1 year low of $8.78 and a 1 year high of $11.48.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Amcor will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

Amcor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.1275 dividend. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.48%. This is a positive change from Amcor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Amcor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.