Ball (NYSE:BALL) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $63.00 to $68.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Ball traded as high as $69.23 and last traded at $69.0730, with a volume of 130,016 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.38.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BALL. Citigroup cut Ball from a “buy” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Ball from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Ball from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ball presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.46.

Insider Transactions at Ball

In other Ball news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $358,938.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $459,934.20. This represents a 43.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Ball

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ball reported Q3 adjusted earnings of $1.10 per share, above the $1.07 consensus, and revenue of $4.19 billion, up 23.9% year over year. Higher shipments and favorable price/mix contributed to the growth. Q3 earnings beat on higher volumes and favorable price/mix
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $75 and maintained an Outperform rating; Truist reiterated Buy with a $76 target. Mizuho price target Truist rating
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS raised its target from $63 to $68 but kept a Neutral rating. The reported analyst consensus target was $71.46, suggesting continued disagreement about the shares’ upside. Consensus price target
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded Ball from Overweight to Neutral and set a $65 target. Q3 coverage also flagged cost pressures and shrinking operating margins, despite the revenue and earnings beat. JPMorgan rating cut Q3 results and pre-market reaction

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Dakota State Investment Board grew its holdings in Ball by 2.2% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 8,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG raised its position in Ball by 3.6% during the second quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 5,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ball by 2.3% during the third quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Ball by 29.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ball by 19.5% in the first quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.01. The company has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.94.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. Ball had a net margin of 3.52% and a return on equity of 18.81%. The business’s revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ball Corporation will post 3.93 EPS for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Ball’s payout ratio is presently 22.66%.

Ball Company Profile

Ball Corporation is a global supplier of sustainable aluminum packaging. The company primarily manufactures aluminum beverage cans, bottles and cups used by beer, soft-drink, energy-drink and other beverage companies. Its products are designed to support brand presentation, product protection and recycling throughout the packaging lifecycle.

Ball serves customers across North and South America, Europe and other international markets through a network of manufacturing facilities. The company also develops and markets aluminum packaging products for additional consumer and household applications, including its reusable and recyclable Ball Aluminum Cup.

Founded in 1880 as a manufacturer of glass containers, Ball evolved into a major producer of metal packaging and became particularly known for its aluminum beverage cans.