Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $2.84, but opened at $2.75. Ardagh Metal Packaging shares last traded at $2.70, with a volume of 155,529 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMBP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $3.35 price objective (down from $3.60) on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $3.60 to $3.10 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America cut shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.37.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.29, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.50.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 1,760.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.31%. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -333.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 15,834.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 5,104,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,245,000 after purchasing an additional 5,072,769 shares during the period. King Street Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ardagh Metal Packaging in the second quarter worth $14,790,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 523.8% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 2,914,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,568,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446,997 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,784,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,729,000 after acquiring an additional 11,963 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 37.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,778,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,704,000 after acquiring an additional 489,146 shares during the period. 16.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.