Aptargroup – Well Dosed

Last Updated: 11. Februar 2024By

Few people have them on their radar, yet they are often counted among the leaders in their industry. One such company is the US-based Aptargroup. The numbers for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2023 were better than expected by analysts.

What does Aptar Group do? The company, whose headquarters are located in Crystal Lake, Illinois, is actually one of the world’s leading players in its niche. Its customers mainly come from the pharmaceutical and consumer industries.

For these companies, the Americans provide technologies and products that serve dosing and packaging protection. Customers include big names such as Coca-Cola, Beiersdorf, Unilever, and Nestlé. However, hardly anyone knows that the Americans are an important supplier. After all, the packaging usually only displays the brand names of the manufacturers of pills, pastes, and hair and nasal sprays.

In the past, the Aptar Group (WKN: 886413) has been a very solid investment. But more on that later. Let’s first take a look at analysts‘ expectations for the fourth quarter and the full fiscal year of 2023.

Analysts‘ expectations On February 9, 2024, Aptargroup released its numbers for the previous quarter. The company earned a net income per share of $1.21. Analysts had previously estimated earnings per share at $1.12. This would be an increase of almost 22% compared to the previous year, when the company earned $0.92 per share.

Revenue increased slightly by nearly 6% to just under $840 million, as in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, the company generated revenue of almost $796 million.

Analysts are optimistic about their forecasts for the full fiscal year of 2023. Earnings per share are expected to reach $4.68, compared to $3.79 in fiscal year 2022. On the revenue side, analysts expect $3.49 billion, compared to $3.32 billion in the previous year.

Aptargroup’s stock has been a profitable investment so far. There is no doubt that there are far worse investments than the „dosing dispenser“. Over the past ten years, investors have seen a total increase in value of around 105%. Year-to-date, the stock has gained almost 17%, and in the current year, it has risen by almost 7%.

However, the company’s stock is currently trading at just under $139, well below its all-time high of nearly $160, which was reached in mid-2021. On the other hand, the current price level is significantly higher than the all-time low in the first quarter of 2020, when investors only had to pay half of the current stock price.

Should you buy Aptargroup’s stock now? At first glance, the stock may not seem cheap. Analysts‘ expected price-earnings ratio for the previous fiscal year is just under 28, for 2024 it is just over 26, and for 2025 it is almost exactly 24. If the analysts are right, steady earnings growth can be expected.

However, the stock is unlikely to become a high-flyer. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the stock is interesting and suitable for diversifying a well-diversified portfolio. After all, Aptargroup is one of the world’s leading players in its niche. And this niche is likely to have significant potential in the coming years.

My opinion on the stock: Risk-conscious investors should now add a few shares to their portfolio, not least in view of the upcoming earnings release. Caution: The stock is hardly traded in Germany. Therefore, if you want to invest, you should do so on the New York Stock Exchange, the company’s home exchange. And one more thing to be careful about: sometimes the stock has an incredibly large spread – the difference between the bid and ask price. Therefore, never buy unlimited!