Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $3.47, but opened at $3.40. Ardagh Metal Packaging shares last traded at $3.29, with a volume of 326,967 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $4.90 to $4.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $4.25 to $5.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ardagh Metal Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.92.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of -27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.21, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.65.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s payout ratio is -333.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardagh Metal Packaging

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMBP. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 70.4% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 12,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 5,009 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Ardagh Metal Packaging by 23.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 3,515 shares during the last quarter. 16.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.