Balefire LLC Decreases Stake in Ball Corporation $BALL

Key Points

• Balefire LLC sharply cut its Ball Corporation stake by 84.9% in the first quarter, selling 32,287 shares and ending with 5,741 shares worth about $339,000.
• Ball’s recent results topped expectations, with quarterly EPS of $0.94 versus the $0.85 estimate and revenue of $3.60 billion, up 16.3% year over year.
• Wall Street remains generally positive on BALL, with 10 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings, a consensus “Moderate Buy,” and an average price target of $70.85.

Balefire LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 84.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,741 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,287 shares during the quarter. Balefire LLC's holdings in Ball were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 8.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,490 shares of the company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Ball during the 1st quarter valued at $4,123,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Ball by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 747,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,166,000 after buying an additional 38,600 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in Ball during the 1st quarter valued at $3,522,000. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in Ball in the 1st quarter worth $1,543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE:BALL opened at $62.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $58.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.95. Ball Corporation has a twelve month low of $44.83 and a twelve month high of $68.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. Ball had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.69%. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ball Corporation will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ball's payout ratio is currently 23.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 target price on shares of Ball and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ball from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ball from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.85.

Ball Profile

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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