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

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Nine of 13 covering brokers rate Ball a buy, three rate it hold and one rates it sell. Their average 12-month price target is $71.46.
• Ball’s latest reported quarter beat expectations, with EPS of $1.10 versus a $1.07 estimate and revenue of $4.19 billion, up 23.9% year over year.
• Ball declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to $0.80 annually and a stated yield of 1.2%.

Shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.46.

Several research firms recently commented on BALL. Citigroup downgraded shares of Ball from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $76.00 price objective (down from $78.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ball from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price 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 Transactions at Ball

In other Ball news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $358,938.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at $459,934.20. The trade was a 43.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BALL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the second quarter valued at $1,310,991,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter worth about $163,768,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter worth about $160,506,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Ball in the 2nd quarter valued at about $143,165,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Ball in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,380,000. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of BALL stock opened at $67.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.94. Ball has a 1-year low of $46.06 and a 1-year high of $68.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.01.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 18.81% and a net margin of 3.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ball will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Ball's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.66%.

Ball News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ball reported third-quarter comparable earnings of $1.10 per share, ahead of estimates, and revenue of $4.19 billion—up 23.9% year over year and well above consensus. Higher shipment volumes and favorable price/mix helped drive growth. Zacks Q3 earnings article
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target from $72 to $75 and kept an “outperform” rating, signaling continued confidence in potential upside. Mizuho ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist reaffirmed its “buy” rating but lowered its target to $76 from $78. UBS raised its target to $68 from $63 but maintained a “neutral” rating, indicating limited upside at that estimate. Truist ratings UBS ratings
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded Ball from “overweight” to “neutral” and set a $65 target, below the referenced share price. Reports also flag cost pressures and shrinking operating margins; Ball posted a GAAP loss per share for the quarter despite higher comparable earnings. JPMorgan ratings Ball third-quarter results

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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