Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 20,231 Ball Corporation $BALL

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake of 20,231 Ball shares in Q4 valued at about $1.07 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 86.51% of the stock.
• Wall Street has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy on BALL with an average price target of $69.33, based on 10 Buy and 5 Hold analyst ratings.
• Ball slightly beat Q4 estimates with $0.91 EPS and $3.35B revenue (revenue +16.2% YoY), set FY2026 guidance around 3.93 EPS, and recently announced a $0.20 quarterly dividend (about a 1.3% yield).

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 20,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Ball in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Ball in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Ball in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Ball by 4,236.8% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 824 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Ball by 297.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 802 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BALL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Ball from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ball from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.33.

Ball Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of BALL opened at $60.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.26. Ball Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.83 and a 1-year high of $68.29. The stock has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.14.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. Ball had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The company's revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ball Corporation will post 3.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Ball's payout ratio is presently 24.10%.

Insider Activity at Ball

In other Ball news, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of Ball 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,450,118.36. The trade was a 22.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Fauze Villatoro bought 1,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.51 per share, with a total value of $100,055.01. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president directly owned 13,778 shares in the company, valued at $888,818.78. This trade represents a 12.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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