Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Ball Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from eleven analysts, with predictions ranging from a sell to buy recommendations.
• The company has reported a 12.8% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, amounting to $3.34 billion, and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.90, exceeding expectations.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share has been announced, reflecting an annual yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 41.45%.

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $65.2727.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Ball from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ball from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Ball from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $66.00 target price (down from $67.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th.

Ball Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:BALL opened at $50.89 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $55.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.00. Ball has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $68.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03. Ball had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 16.81%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ball has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ball will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Ball's payout ratio is presently 41.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ball news, Chairman Daniel William Fisher sold 3,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.55, for a total value of $175,270.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 10,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,355.80. This trade represents a 25.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Ball by 145.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 517 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Ball in the first quarter worth $32,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 72.4% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 707 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ball by 764.9% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 813 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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