Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) Short Interest Up 55.1% in February

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,730,000 shares, an increase of 55.1% from the February 13th total of 3,050,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMBP shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $3.60 to $3.10 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $3.35 price target (down previously from $3.60) on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.25 to $2.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $4.90 to $4.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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 report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.44.

Institutional Trading of Ardagh Metal Packaging

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMBP. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ardagh Metal Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 292.7% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 8,180 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 16.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMBP traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $2.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,448,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,417. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.63. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $2.50 and a fifty-two week high of $4.26.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a positive return on equity of 1,760.00% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. On average, analysts forecast that Ardagh Metal Packaging will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -800.00%.

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.