Ball (NYSE:BALL) Stock Price Target Raised at Citigroup

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $75.00 to $77.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ball from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ball from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.15.

Ball Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:BALL opened at $66.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.94. Ball has a 52-week low of $46.06 and a 52-week high of $69.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.06.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted 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. Ball had a return on equity of 18.81% and a net margin of 3.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ball will post 4.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.2%. Ball’s payout ratio is currently 40.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $358,938.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,209 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ball

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ball by 8.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,416,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $837,196,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024,861 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Ball in the second quarter valued at approximately $96,380,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Ball in the second quarter valued at approximately $160,506,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Ball by 3,687.6% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 72,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,077,000 after purchasing an additional 70,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in Ball by 90.7% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 81,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,104,000 after purchasing an additional 38,896 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Ball

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target to $77 from $75 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 15% upside from $66.94. Citigroup recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: RBC lifted its target to $77 from $73 and reiterated Outperform, also signaling roughly 15% potential upside. RBC recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its target to $75 from $72 and assigned an Outperform rating. Mizuho recommendations
• Positive Sentiment: Ball reported quarterly EPS of $1.10, above the $1.07 consensus, and revenue of $4.19 billion versus estimates of $3.78 billion. Revenue rose 23.9% year over year, although shares fell in premarket trading after the results. Ball Q3 earnings coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS raised its target to $68 from $63 but kept a Neutral rating. Truist reaffirmed Buy while trimming its target to $76 from $78. UBS recommendations Truist recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded Ball from Overweight to Neutral and set a $65 target, below the cited $66.94 share price—one of the clearest near-term bearish signals. JPMorgan downgrade report

About Ball

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.