Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Hits New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) shares hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $2.93 and last traded at $2.97, with a volume of 271092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on AMBP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $4.25 to $5.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $4.90 to $4.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.92.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $3.45 and its 200 day moving average is $3.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.75, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.21, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.01. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 1,760.00%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.47%. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -333.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. King Street Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,790,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 48.7% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,325,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,505,000 after buying an additional 433,700 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 106.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 16,786 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 422.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 319,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 258,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. 16.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ardagh Metal Packaging

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.