Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts are constructive on Ball Corp. Thirteen brokerages covering the stock give it a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”, with nine buy ratings and four hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $69.54.
• Ball posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results. The company reported $0.94 EPS on $3.60 billion in revenue, beating analyst estimates for both measures. Revenue rose 16.3% year over year, and Ball also reaffirmed FY 2026 EPS guidance at 3.930.
• The stock has pulled back despite fundamentals and income appeal. Ball shares were down 2.0% and last traded around $56.44, below the average analyst target. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equal to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.5385.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ball from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup cut their target price on Ball from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 target price on Ball and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ball in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Ball from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Ball Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of BALL opened at $56.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.06. Ball has a 1 year low of $44.83 and a 1 year high of $68.29. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $60.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.34 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 18.69% and a net margin of 6.86%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ball will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ball's payout ratio is currently 23.12%.

Insider Activity at Ball

In related news, SVP Fauze Villatoro bought 1,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.51 per share, with a total value of $100,055.01. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,778 shares in the company, valued at $888,818.78. This trade represents a 12.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $710,275.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,450,118.36. This represents a 22.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BALL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ball in the 4th quarter valued at $178,025,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ball by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,658,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830,434 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its position in Ball by 242.9% in the 4th quarter. M&G PLC now owns 2,326,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,648,303 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ball by 1,465.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ball by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,886,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,000,429,000 after acquiring an additional 999,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a leading provider of sustainable aluminum packaging solutions and advanced aerospace technologies. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the company serves customers in the beverage, food and aerosol markets through a global network of manufacturing facilities. With an emphasis on sustainability and innovation, Ball designs and produces metal cans, bottles and ends that support recycling and reduce environmental impact.

The company's packaging segment specializes in beverage cans for soft drinks, beer and energy drinks, as well as metal packaging for food and personal care applications.

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