Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.00.

BALL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ball from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ball from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ball from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Ball Stock Up 1.7%

BALL stock opened at $59.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.10. Ball has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $68.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

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

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ball

In other Ball news, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $710,275.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 36,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,450,118.36. The trade was a 22.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Fauze Villatoro purchased 1,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $64.51 per share, with a total value of $100,055.01. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $888,818.78. This trade represents a 12.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ball

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Ball by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,886,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,429,000 after buying an additional 999,690 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ball by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,225,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,742,000 after acquiring an additional 266,238 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ball by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,658,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,749,000 after acquiring an additional 1,830,434 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Ball by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,739,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,057,000 after acquiring an additional 922,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ball by 14.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,521,000 after acquiring an additional 602,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

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.