Ball Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BALL)

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 10,830 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 901% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,082 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ball news, Chairman Daniel William Fisher sold 3,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.55, for a total transaction of $175,270.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 10,036 shares in the company, valued at $517,355.80. The trade was a 25.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Praxis Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ball by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ball by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 34,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BALL traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $48.02. 2,422,036 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,601,813. Ball has a twelve month low of $43.51 and a twelve month high of $63.35. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $49.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.02. The business had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Ball had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 16.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Ball has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.550-3.650 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ball will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is 41.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ball in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down previously from $67.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group cut their price target on Ball from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Ball from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.36.

Ball Company 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.