Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Shares Gap Down to $3.54

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $3.54, but opened at $3.44. Ardagh Metal Packaging shares last traded at $3.39, with a volume of 165,658 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMBP shares. Citigroup lowered 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, July 8th. UBS Group cut shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $5.00 to $3.75 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $3.95 to $4.25 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.67.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $3.51 and its 200-day moving average is $3.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.14, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.61.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a negative net margin of 1.02% and a positive return on equity of 114.77%. Ardagh Metal Packaging's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.83%. Ardagh Metal Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently -285.71%.

Institutional Trading of Ardagh Metal Packaging

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the first quarter worth $42,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the second quarter worth $45,000. Balentine LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 34.5% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,521 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 5,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.93% of the company's stock.

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.