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

Shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $68.4615.

Several analysts recently issued reports on BALL shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Ball from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Ball from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Ball Trading Down 1.1%

BALL traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,024,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,935,841. The stock has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.10. Ball has a fifty-two week low of $43.51 and a fifty-two week high of $68.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.43 and its 200-day moving average is $53.39.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 purchased at an average price of $64.51 per share, for a total transaction of $100,055.01. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president owned 13,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $888,818.78. This represents a 12.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total value of $710,275.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,450,118.36. The trade was a 22.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ball

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Ball by 41.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 1,531 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ball by 402.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 83,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,356,000 after buying an additional 67,289 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Ball by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the second quarter worth $453,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the second quarter worth $397,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Company Profile

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.