Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.20.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMCR shares. Macquarie upgraded Amcor from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Amcor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Amcor from $10.50 to $10.80 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Amcor from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Trading of Amcor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMCR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Amcor by 275.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,613,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,931,000 after purchasing an additional 4,851,222 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Amcor by 39,411.0% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,811,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,855,000 after buying an additional 2,804,484 shares during the period. M&G PLC increased its holdings in Amcor by 5.9% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 49,940,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,342,000 after buying an additional 2,775,794 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amcor by 356.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,930,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,287,826 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amcor by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,190,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,348,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960,308 shares in the last quarter. 45.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amcor Price Performance

Shares of AMCR stock opened at $9.44 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.49. Amcor has a 52-week low of $8.78 and a 52-week high of $11.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. Amcor had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 25.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Amcor will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Amcor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.1275 dividend. This represents a $0.51 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Amcor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Amcor’s payout ratio is 96.23%.

Amcor Company Profile

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.