Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.47, but opened at $3.40. Ardagh Metal Packaging shares last traded at $3.29, with a volume of 326,967 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AMBP shares. 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 research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $4.25 to $5.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.92.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Trading Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.21, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.64.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.01. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a positive return on equity of 1,760.00% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -333.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMBP. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 15,834.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 5,104,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,245,000 after buying an additional 5,072,769 shares during the period. King Street Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,790,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 523.8% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,914,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446,997 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 37.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,778,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 489,146 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 48.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,325,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,505,000 after purchasing an additional 433,700 shares during the period. 16.93% of the stock is owned by 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.