Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) by 96.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,466 shares of the company's stock after selling 115,098 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Ball were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ball in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ball in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company's stock.

Ball Price Performance

Ball stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.71. 3,893,435 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,161,083. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $50.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.81. The company has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.24, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. Ball Co. has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $70.43.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. Ball's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Ball's payout ratio is 47.62%.

Ball declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ball from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Ball from $83.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.00.

Ball 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.