Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ball (NYSE:BALL) Stock

Key Points

• Mizuho raised its price target on Ball from $72 to $75 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying 18.42% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst views are mixed: nine rate the stock Buy, three Hold and one Sell, for a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target of $71.23. JPMorgan downgraded Ball to Neutral with a $65 target.
• Ball’s latest quarter beat estimates, with comparable EPS of $1.10 and revenue up 23.9% to $4.19 billion; however, the company also reported a GAAP loss and faced cost and margin pressures.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Mizuho from $72.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Mizuho's target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.42% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Ball from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.23.

Ball Stock Down 7.0%

Shares of NYSE BALL opened at $63.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.95. Ball has a 1 year low of $44.83 and a 1 year high of $68.29.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. Ball had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.61%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Ball will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ball

In related news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ball during the second quarter worth about $1,310,991,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ball by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,416,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $837,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,861 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ball by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,999,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,605,000 after acquiring an additional 340,677 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $163,768,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $160,506,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Key Ball News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Comparable diluted EPS was $1.10, above the roughly $1.07 analyst estimate and up from $1.02 a year earlier. Revenue rose 23.9% to $4.19 billion, beating the $3.78 billion consensus, with higher shipments and favorable price/mix contributing to growth. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s earnings call pointed to continued growth but also near-term headwinds, leaving the outlook balanced. Earnings call highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the comparable EPS beat, Ball reported a GAAP diluted loss of $0.36 per share, compared with earnings of $1.18 a year earlier. Separate coverage also cited cost pressures and shrinking operating margins, which could limit the benefit of sales growth. Ball Q3 results
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded Ball from “overweight” to “neutral,” setting a $65 price target—about 2.6% above the cited $63.33 price. The rating change signals less conviction in near-term upside. JPMorgan rating report

Ball Company Profile

Ball Corporation is a global supplier of sustainable aluminum packaging. The company primarily manufactures aluminum beverage cans, bottles and cups used by beer, soft-drink, energy-drink and other beverage companies. Its products are designed to support brand presentation, product protection and recycling throughout the packaging lifecycle.

Ball serves customers across North and South America, Europe and other international markets through a network of manufacturing facilities. The company also develops and markets aluminum packaging products for additional consumer and household applications, including its reusable and recyclable Ball Aluminum Cup.

Founded in 1880 as a manufacturer of glass containers, Ball evolved into a major producer of metal packaging and became particularly known for its aluminum beverage cans.

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