Ball (NYSE:BALL) Issues Earnings Results

Ball (NYSE:BALL) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Ball had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ball Stock Down 6.0%

BALL stock opened at $63.98 on Tuesday. Ball has a fifty-two week low of $44.83 and a fifty-two week high of $68.29. The company has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $61.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is 22.66%.

Insider Activity at Ball

In other Ball news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BALL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered Ball from a “buy” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ball from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ball from $77.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ball presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

Ball Company Profile

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.