Ball (NYSE:BALL) and RPC Group (OTCMKTS:RPCGF) Critical Comparison

RPC Group (OTCMKTS:RPCGF) and Ball (NYSE:BALL) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares RPC Group and Ball”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RPC Group	$4.97 billion	0.85	$336.18 million	N/A	N/A
Ball	$13.16 billion	1.31	$912.00 million	$3.46	18.78

Ball has higher revenue and earnings than RPC Group.

Profitability

This table compares RPC Group and Ball’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RPC Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ball	6.86%	18.69%	5.31%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.5% of Ball shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Ball shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

RPC Group has a beta of 0.21, suggesting that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ball has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for RPC Group and Ball, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RPC Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ball	0	3	10	0	2.77

Ball has a consensus price target of $70.85, indicating a potential upside of 9.04%. Given Ball’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ball is more favorable than RPC Group.

Summary

Ball beats RPC Group on 12 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RPC Group

RPC Group Plc operates as a plastic product design and engineering company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Packaging and Non-Packaging. The Packaging segment designs plastic packaging for end markets, including the food, beverage, personal care, and healthcare markets; and designs and manufactures other plastic products, such as containers for surface coatings comprising paint pots and vaping accessories. It sells its products directly to the brands, as well as to retailers or fillers. The Non-Packaging segment designs and manufactures a range of plastic products that include temporary storage systems for waste and recycling; and technical components for the automotive and heavy vehicles industries. It also makes moulds, which are used to make plastic components and packaging products. This segment sells its products to intermediaries. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Rushden, the United Kingdom.

About Ball

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. It also manufactures and sells extruded aluminum aerosol containers, recloseable aluminum bottles, aluminum cups, and aluminum slugs. Ball Corporation was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado.