Amcor PLC (ASX: AMC) shares are trading higher again on Friday morning. At the time of writing, the shares are up another 0.20% to $70 a piece.
The uptick means the shares are now up 10.27% for the month of February alone, although they're 11.89% below the trading price reported this time last year.
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What has driven Amcor shares higher this month?
The packaging giant posted its results for the December quarter last week, which boosted the share price higher. The company announced a huge 68% increase in its quarterly net sales, and its adjusted EBITDA soared 83% higher.
The bumper results have come straight off the back of its recent acquisition of Berry Global. The US$6.4 billion deal added around US$2.2 billion in quarterly sales and also gave US$55 million in synergy benefits.
Management also confirmed full-year guidance, expecting adjusted EPS between US$4 to US$4.15. This translates to 12% to 17% growth on a constant currency basis.
The company also declared an unfranked interim dividend of 93 Aussie cents per share. Amcor pays quarterly dividends, with this latest declared payout up 356% from the prior corresponding quarter.
At the time, Amcor CEO Peter Konieczny said, "Our Q2 financial performance was in line with expectations in a challenging volume environment. Strong Adjusted EPS growth was driven by disciplined execution and synergy benefits from the Berry acquisition at the upper end of expectations."
Investors were clearly thrilled with the result, with many rushing to snap up shares in the packing business while prices were still cheap.
What do the analysts think of the stock?
Brokers confirmed their buy recommendations for Amcor shares after the company delivered its solid quarterly results.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Jeffries said the results were broadly in line with expectations.
The team at Morgans, however, said that the results were softer than they expected. The broker was pleased that synergy benefits were at the high end of guidance, but it expected more from operating performance. But Morgans thinks the company could improve performance in the second half of FY26.
Is there any more upside left?
Data shows that most analysts have a buy or strong buy rating on Amcor shares (18 out of 22 analysts). The maximum target price is $86.50 a piece, which implies a 23.62% upside ahead at the time of writing.
Even the average target price of $76.48 implies a 9.32% upside over the next 12 months.
It's fair to say that it looks like we could see more gains from the packaging business this year.
