Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.01. Amcor had a return on equity of 24.28% and a net margin of 4.59%. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Amcor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. Amcor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 113.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Amcor from $9.90 to $10.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amcor has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Amcor by 17.7% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,171,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,140,000 after acquiring an additional 176,485 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted 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 purchasing an additional 458,101 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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 bought a new position in Amcor during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,738,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Amcor during the first quarter valued at $428,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.14% of the company’s stock.

Amcor Stock Up 9.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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.