Ball (NYSE:BALL) Raised to “Outperform” at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ball (NYSE:BALL) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $70.00 target price on the stock.

BALL has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ball from $59.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ball from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ball from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ball from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $69.08.

Ball Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE BALL opened at $63.42 on Wednesday. Ball has a 12-month low of $42.81 and a 12-month high of $71.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.51. The company has a market capitalization of $19.68 billion, a PE ratio of 4.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.85.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.10 billion. Ball had a net margin of 32.79% and a return on equity of 19.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ball will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.02%.

Ball declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback 40,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Ball by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ball by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 25,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Ball by 2.0% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Ball by 0.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,304,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Ball by 0.7% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 26,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

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.