Ball (NYSE:BALL) Price Target Raised to $50.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $44.00 to $50.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

BALL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Ball from $83.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.40.

Ball Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:BALL opened at $52.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.12, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. Ball has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $70.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.07. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Ball’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ball will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Ball’s payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Ball

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in shares of Ball by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Ball during the first quarter worth $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ball by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ball by 764.9% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Ball by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.