Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts Ball (NYSE:BALL) Price Target to $71.00

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target on Ball from $74 to $71 but kept an "outperform" rating, a target that implies roughly a 22.6% upside from the stock's current level.
• Analyst consensus is mixed-but-positive: eight firms rate BALL a Buy and six a Hold, with an average price target of $68.77 and several recent targets clustered around the low $70s.
• Ball reported a quarterly beat (EPS $0.91 vs. $0.90; revenue $3.35B vs. $3.11B, +16.2% YoY), set FY2026 guidance at 3.930 EPS, and the stock traded down to $57.90 (P/E ~17.5) on the day.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.62% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on BALL. Mizuho upped their price target on Ball from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ball from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ball from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Ball from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.77.

Ball Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE BALL traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.90. The company had a trading volume of 630,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,166,735. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.83 and a 200 day moving average of $53.92. Ball has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $68.29.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Ball had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 18.12%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ball will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of Ball stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $710,275.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,450,118.36. This trade represents a 22.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Fauze Villatoro bought 1,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were bought 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 represents a 12.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Downshift Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ball in the fourth quarter worth approximately $491,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ball by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 65,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,495,000 after purchasing an additional 26,978 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,946,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,178,000 after purchasing an additional 195,573 shares in the last quarter. Arwa LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 4th quarter worth $501,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 4th quarter worth $1,869,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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