Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.20.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Amcor from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $12.50 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Amcor from $10.50 to $10.80 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Macquarie raised Amcor from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Amcor from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amcor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of Amcor by 5.9% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 49,940,152 shares of the company's stock worth $549,342,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775,794 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Amcor by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,190,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $489,348,000 after purchasing an additional 1,960,308 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Amcor by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,317,037 shares of the company's stock worth $410,144,000 after purchasing an additional 697,320 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amcor by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,916,478 shares of the company's stock worth $194,783,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443,364 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Amcor by 11.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,721,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,989,000 after buying an additional 1,527,492 shares during the last quarter. 45.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amcor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMCR remained flat at $9.40 during mid-day trading on Friday. 39,566,992 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,890,838. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.29. Amcor has a fifty-two week low of $8.78 and a fifty-two week high of $11.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.51.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Amcor had a return on equity of 25.60% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Amcor will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amcor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.1275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.43%. This is a boost from Amcor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Amcor's dividend payout ratio is presently 96.23%.

Amcor Company Profile

Amcor plc develops, produces, and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. The company operates through two segments, Flexibles and Rigid Packaging. The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries.