Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Raised to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $3.10 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $3.60.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on AMBP. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.25 to $2.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America downgraded Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $4.90 to $4.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $5.00 to $3.60 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.41.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging stock opened at $2.84 on Monday. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a 52 week low of $2.66 and a 52 week high of $4.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.66, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.65. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.51.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last posted 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 positive return on equity of 1,760.00% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ardagh Metal Packaging will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.08%. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently -333.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMBP. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 12,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 23.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 34.5% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 5,009 shares during the period. 16.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.