Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) vs. Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) Critical Contrast

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) and Kaiser Aluminum (NASDAQ:KALU) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ardagh Metal Packaging and Kaiser Aluminum”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ardagh Metal Packaging	$4.91 billion	0.53	-$3.00 million	($0.01)	-439.00
Kaiser Aluminum	$3.02 billion	0.66	$46.80 million	$5.53	22.17

Kaiser Aluminum has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ardagh Metal Packaging. Ardagh Metal Packaging is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kaiser Aluminum, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ardagh Metal Packaging and Kaiser Aluminum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ardagh Metal Packaging	0.30%	-58.16%	2.71%
Kaiser Aluminum	2.85%	10.67%	3.25%

Dividends

Ardagh Metal Packaging pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.1%. Kaiser Aluminum pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Ardagh Metal Packaging pays out -4,000.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Kaiser Aluminum pays out 55.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Ardagh Metal Packaging is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

Ardagh Metal Packaging has a beta of 0.55, indicating that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kaiser Aluminum has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.9% of Ardagh Metal Packaging shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.3% of Kaiser Aluminum shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Ardagh Metal Packaging shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Kaiser Aluminum shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Ardagh Metal Packaging and Kaiser Aluminum, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ardagh Metal Packaging	0	6	1	0	2.14
Kaiser Aluminum	0	5	1	0	2.17

Ardagh Metal Packaging currently has a consensus target price of $4.51, indicating a potential upside of 2.73%. Kaiser Aluminum has a consensus target price of $99.67, indicating a potential downside of 18.72%. Given Ardagh Metal Packaging’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Ardagh Metal Packaging is more favorable than Kaiser Aluminum.

Summary

Kaiser Aluminum beats Ardagh Metal Packaging on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ardagh Metal Packaging

Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A., 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. The company serves beverage producers. Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. is a subsidiary of Ardagh Group S.A.

About Kaiser Aluminum

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in manufacture and sale of semi-fabricated specialty aluminum mill products in the United States and internationally. It offers rolled, extruded, and drawn aluminum products used for aerospace and defense, aluminum beverage and food packaging, automotive and general engineering products. The company's automotive extrusions include extruded aluminum products for structural components, crash management systems, anti-lock braking systems, and drawn tubes for drive shafts, as well as offers fabrication services, including sawing and cutting to length. Its packaging products consist of bare and coated 3000- and 5000-series alloy aluminum coil used for beverage and food packaging industry. In addition, the company's general engineering products comprise alloy plate, sheet, rod, bar, tube, wire, and standard extrusion shapes used in various applications, including the production of military vehicles, ordnances, semiconductor manufacturing cells, electronic devices, after-market motor sport parts, tooling plates, parts for machinery and equipment, bolts, screws, nails, and rivets. Further, its rerolled, extruded, drawn, and cast billet aluminum products used for industrial end uses. The company sells its products directly to customers through sales personnel located in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and China, as well as through independent sales agents in other regions of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Kaiser Aluminum Corporation was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.