Ball (NYSE:BALL) Price Target Increased to $70.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its price objective lifted by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $62.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 0.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ball from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group began coverage on Ball in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “sell” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ball in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.38.

Ball Stock Up 6.6 %

Ball stock opened at $69.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.25, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Ball has a 12 month low of $42.81 and a 12 month high of $70.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.11.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 31.42%. Ball’s revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ball will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ball news, insider Daniel William Fisher acquired 3,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $64.56 per share, with a total value of $249,782.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 111,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,222,068.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 80.4% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 572 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky bought a new position in shares of Ball during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

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.