Ball (NYSE:BALL) Price Target Raised to $70.00

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $59.00 to $70.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BALL. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ball from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Citigroup started coverage on Ball in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They set a neutral rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ball from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Ball from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $69.15.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of BALL opened at $68.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ball has a 12-month low of $42.81 and a 12-month high of $71.32. The stock has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.16, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.62.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Ball had a net margin of 31.42% and a return on equity of 21.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ball will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.02%.

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase 40,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Ball

In related news, insider Daniel William Fisher acquired 3,869 shares of Ball stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.56 per share, for a total transaction of $249,782.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 111,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,222,068.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Ball by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,252,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,020,000 after purchasing an additional 143,005 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Ball by 23.8% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,469,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,149,000 after purchasing an additional 282,114 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ball by 82.8% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 309,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,430,000 after purchasing an additional 140,440 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Ball by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 389,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,384,000 after purchasing an additional 16,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ball by 25.3% during the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 85,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,245,000 after buying an additional 17,215 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ball

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.