Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.66

Key Points

• Amcor declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, up 1.5% from $0.65, equal to $2.64 annually and a stated 5.4% yield. Shareholders of record November 25 are scheduled to receive payment December 16.
• The company’s reported dividend payout ratio is 317.1%, indicating earnings alone currently do not cover the dividend; analysts expect next year’s earnings to bring the projected payout ratio down to 60.7%.
• Amcor reported quarterly EPS of $0.95, one cent below estimates, while revenue of $6.13 billion exceeded expectations of $5.75 billion.

Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share on Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This is a 1.5% increase from Amcor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65.

Amcor has a dividend payout ratio of 317.1% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Amcor to earn $4.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.7%.

Amcor Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE AMCR opened at $48.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Amcor has a 12-month low of $36.25 and a 12-month high of $50.94. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $44.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.13.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.75 billion. Amcor had a return on equity of 15.92% and a net margin of 4.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amcor will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMCR. Weiss Ratings raised Amcor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Amcor from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Amcor in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Amcor in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Amcor from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $44.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.36.

About Amcor

Amcor plc NYSE: AMCR is a global packaging company that develops and produces packaging solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, personal care, household, and other consumer and industrial products. Its offerings include flexible packaging, rigid containers, closures, bottles, specialty cartons, and related packaging systems designed to protect products, support supply chains, and improve convenience and sustainability.

The company serves customers across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other international markets.

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