Analysts Set Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Target Price at $65.58

Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $65.58.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BALL shares. UBS Group started coverage on Ball in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Ball in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a report on Friday, April 12th.

Ball Stock Up 6.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BALL opened at $69.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.95. Ball has a 1 year low of $42.81 and a 1 year high of $70.75.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.12. Ball had a return on equity of 23.81% and a net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Ball will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Ball news, insider Daniel William Fisher purchased 3,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.56 per share, for a total transaction of $249,782.64. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 111,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,222,068.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ball

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BALL. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in Ball by 80.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Ball in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Ball in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Ball in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ball in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

About Ball

Ball Corporation supplies aluminum packaging products for the beverage, personal care, and household products industries in the United States, Brazil, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells aluminum beverage containers to fillers of carbonated soft drinks, beer, energy drinks, and other beverages.