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

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.15.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BALL. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ball from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Ball from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Ball from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

Insider Activity

In other Ball news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $358,938.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $459,934.20. This trade represents a 43.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ball

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 53.6% during the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 3,415 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Ball by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 11,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 5,619 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Ball by 46.8% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 60,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,403,000 after buying an additional 19,367 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Ball by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 13,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Finally, Pensioenfonds Rail & OV acquired a new position in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,934,000. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Stock Performance

Ball stock opened at $66.70 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Ball has a 1-year low of $46.06 and a 1-year high of $69.57. The firm has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.44 and a 200-day moving average of $61.17.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Ball had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 18.81%. Ball’s quarterly revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ball will post 4.00 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

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

About Ball

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.