Short Interest in Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) Expands By 108.9%

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,180,000 shares, an increase of 108.9% from the December 15th total of 2,480,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE AMBP traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $2.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,688,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,073. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $3.30 and a 200 day moving average of $3.51. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a 1-year low of $2.66 and a 1-year high of $4.26.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.01. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 1,760.00%. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ardagh Metal Packaging will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 14.31%. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s payout ratio is presently -333.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMBP. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $3.35 price target (down previously from $3.60) on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lowered shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $4.90 to $4.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $3.60 to $3.10 in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.37.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMBP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 58.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 493,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 182,906 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 5,009 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 11.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 165,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 17,104 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 215,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 26,865 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 749,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,550,000 after buying an additional 15,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.