Loop Capital Has Lowered Expectations for Ball (NYSE:BALL) Stock Price

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its target price cut by Loop Capital from $83.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Ball from $65.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.40.

Ball Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BALL opened at $52.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.33. Ball has a 52-week low of $43.51 and a 52-week high of $70.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ball will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ball by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ball by 764.9% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 813 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Ball by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ball Company Profile

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.