Critical Survey: Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) and Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP)

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) and Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Amcor has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ardagh Metal Packaging has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

45.1% of Amcor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.9% of Ardagh Metal Packaging shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Amcor shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Ardagh Metal Packaging shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Amcor and Ardagh Metal Packaging”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amcor	$23.51 billion	0.85	$177.00 million	$2.36	18.38
Ardagh Metal Packaging	$5.99 billion	0.49	$11.00 million	$0.06	82.08

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

Dividends

Amcor pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Ardagh Metal Packaging pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.1%. Amcor pays out 110.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ardagh Metal Packaging pays out 666.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Amcor has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amcor	4.71%	15.92%	5.01%
Ardagh Metal Packaging	0.68%	-27.93%	3.09%

Analyst Ratings

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amcor	0	7	7	1	2.60
Ardagh Metal Packaging	0	6	1	0	2.14

Amcor currently has a consensus price target of $49.49, indicating a potential upside of 14.10%. Ardagh Metal Packaging has a consensus price target of $4.92, indicating a potential downside of 0.17%. Given Amcor’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amcor is more favorable than Ardagh Metal Packaging.

Summary

Amcor beats Ardagh Metal Packaging on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Rigid Packaging segment offers rigid containers for various beverage and food products, including carbonated soft drinks, water, juices, sports drinks, milk-based beverages, spirits and beer, sauces, dressings, spreads, and personal care items; and plastic caps for various applications. The company sells its products through its direct sales force. Amcor plc was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

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.