Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) Short Interest Up 26.0% in February

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 130,510,000 shares, an increase of 26.0% from the February 13th total of 103,550,000 shares. Currently, 9.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 19,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Amcor Stock Performance

AMCR stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.44. 61,912,768 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,213,361. Amcor has a one year low of $8.80 and a one year high of $11.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16. Amcor had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 26.14%. The business had revenue of $3.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. Amcor's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Amcor will post 0.74 EPS for the current year.

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Amcor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.1275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.41%. Amcor's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Achal Agarwal bought 10,000 shares of Amcor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $10.10 per share, with a total value of $101,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 88,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,566.70. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amcor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Amcor by 3,410.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Amcor by 247.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Amcor by 2,064.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,723 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3,551 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Amcor by 3,794.1% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 3,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Amcor by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. 45.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMCR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised Amcor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Amcor from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $12.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial raised Amcor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Macquarie raised Amcor from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Amcor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amcor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.46.

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.