Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) Short Interest Up 7.9% in March

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,960,000 shares, an increase of 7.9% from the February 29th total of 3,670,000 shares. Currently, 2.9% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMBP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.00 to $3.70 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $3.00 target price (down previously from $4.00) on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $3.20 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $4.10 to $3.50 in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ardagh Metal Packaging has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $4.30.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 43.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,815 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 66.8% during the 2nd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3,359 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 2,026.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,443 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 8,046 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC purchased a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the first quarter valued at $43,000. 16.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Price Performance

Shares of AMBP traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $3.36. 549,785 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,105,051. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.34. The company's 50-day moving average price is $3.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.51. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a 52-week low of $2.57 and a 52-week high of $4.29.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.03). Ardagh Metal Packaging had a positive return on equity of 38.48% and a negative net margin of 1.04%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Ardagh Metal Packaging will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.90%. Ardagh Metal Packaging's payout ratio is -333.33%.

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.