Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) Stock Has Average Target Price of $71.46 According to Analysts

Shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.15.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Ball from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Ball from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Ball from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Ball Price Performance

Ball stock opened at $65.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.11. Ball has a 1 year low of $46.06 and a 1 year high of $69.57.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Ball had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ball will post 4.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.20%.

Ball News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $77 from $75 and maintained a Buy rating; RBC also lifted its target to $77, from $73, and kept its Outperform rating. Both targets imply about 17% upside from the cited $65.88 share price. Citigroup price-target report RBC analyst recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Truist reiterated its Buy rating, signaling continued confidence in Ball’s prospects. Truist rating report
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS raised its target to $68 from $63 but kept a Neutral rating, suggesting a more modest view of potential gains. UBS price-target report
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho set a new $75 price target. Ball’s reported consensus target is $71.46, reflecting generally positive expectations but some variation among analysts. Mizuho price-target report Consensus price-target report
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut Ball’s rating to Neutral, a cautious counterpoint to the recent target increases. JPMorgan rating report

Insider Buying and Selling at Ball

In related news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of Ball stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $358,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $459,934.20. The trade was a 43.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,244,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,924,000 after purchasing an additional 906,584 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ball by 324.3% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 16,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 12,898 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 64.1% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,454,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,487,000 after purchasing an additional 568,356 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 6.5% during the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 622,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,456,000 after purchasing an additional 38,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 17.0% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Company Profile

Ball Corporation is a global supplier of aluminum packaging, best known for making beverage cans and ends for beverage companies. Its products are used for a range of drinks, including beer, soft drinks, energy drinks and other beverages. The company also offers aluminum cups and other specialty packaging products.

Ball serves customers across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Its packaging operations support beverage brands and producers with manufacturing capabilities in multiple regions.

Founded in 1880 as a glass-jar business, Ball grew into a major packaging company and later operated an aerospace business.