Ball (NYSE:BALL) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Key Points

• Ball Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.90, exceeding expectations by $0.03, with a net margin of 4.18%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.4% for stockholders on record by September 2nd.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating for Ball, with target prices ranging from $54.00 to $69.00 across several firms.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Ball had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 4.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE:BALL traded down $2.07 on Tuesday, reaching $55.55. 1,938,344 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,622,417. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Ball has a 52 week low of $43.51 and a 52 week high of $68.12. The firm has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.18.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ball's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Ball from $62.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ball from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Ball from $83.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Ball from $54.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ball has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,245 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 10.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ball by 402.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 83,995 shares of the company's stock worth $4,356,000 after buying an additional 67,289 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

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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