Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $8.94, but opened at $9.56. Amcor shares last traded at $9.64, with a volume of 2,242,612 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.49 billion. Amcor had a net margin of 4.59% and a return on equity of 24.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 EPS.

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Amcor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Amcor from $9.90 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amcor presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of Amcor by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,171,450 shares of the company's stock worth $11,140,000 after buying an additional 176,485 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Amcor by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,353,181 shares of the company's stock worth $22,379,000 after buying an additional 458,101 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Amcor by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 863,679 shares of the company's stock worth $8,433,000 after buying an additional 344,409 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amcor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,738,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amcor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $428,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.14% of the company's stock.

Amcor Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.78.

About Amcor

Amcor plc develops, produces, and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. The company operates through two segments, Flexibles and Rigid Packaging. The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries.