Short Interest in Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) Decreases By 7.9%

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,980,000 shares, a decline of 7.9% from the August 15th total of 5,410,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,100,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMBP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $6.00 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $6.50 to $8.00 in a research note on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $5.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardagh Metal Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 615.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 7,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 6,303 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 66.8% in the 2nd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 1,715.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 8,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 8,284 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 43.1% in the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 1,815 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 47.2% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 3,115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.33% of the company’s stock.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Trading Down 0.3 %

AMBP traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $3.31. 30,781 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,408,869. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.70. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a 52-week low of $3.24 and a 52-week high of $5.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.68.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.02). Ardagh Metal Packaging had a net margin of 1.49% and a return on equity of 29.71%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ardagh Metal Packaging will post 0.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 13th. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 500.06%.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Company Profile

Ardagh Metal Packaging SA, together with its subsidiaries, supplies 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.