Analysts Set Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) Price Target at $69.54

Shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.5385.

BALL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ball in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Ball and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Ball Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:BALL opened at $55.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Ball has a 1-year low of $44.83 and a 1-year high of $68.29.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Ball had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.69%. The company’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ball will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is 23.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Fauze Villatoro acquired 1,551 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $888,818.78. This trade represents a 12.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $710,275.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,450,118.36. This trade represents a 22.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ball

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Ball by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,886,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,429,000 after purchasing an additional 999,690 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ball by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,225,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,742,000 after purchasing an additional 266,238 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ball by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,999,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,605,000 after purchasing an additional 340,677 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,739,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,057,000 after acquiring an additional 922,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,521,000 after acquiring an additional 602,137 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.