Ball (NYSE:BALL) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from UBS Group

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at UBS Group from $63.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.87% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on BALL. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $76.00 target price (down from $78.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Ball from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Ball from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Ball from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ball from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.46.

Ball Stock Performance

BALL stock traded up $4.21 on Wednesday, hitting $67.42. The company had a trading volume of 4,025,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,382,625. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ball has a 12-month low of $46.06 and a 12-month high of $68.29. The stock has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.95.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. Ball had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.61%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. Ball’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ball will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ball

In related news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total transaction of $358,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,934.20. This trade represents a 43.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ball in the third quarter worth about $28,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC boosted its position in Ball by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 8,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 3,264 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Ball by 117.5% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 121,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,817,000 after purchasing an additional 65,742 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 5,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after buying an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Ball

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ball reported Q3 comparable EPS of $1.10, above estimates, while revenue rose 23.9% year over year to $4.19 billion, beating expectations. Higher shipments and favorable pricing and product mix supported growth. Q3 earnings beat on higher volumes and favorable price/mix
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target to $75 from $72 and assigned an “outperform” rating, signaling continued upside potential in its view. Mizuho recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist reiterated its “buy” rating but lowered its target to $76 from $78, tempering its outlook while still seeing potential upside. Truist recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded Ball from “overweight” to “neutral” and set a $65 target, below the price cited in the report. The company also faced cost pressures and shrinking operating margins, while its reported GAAP result was a diluted loss per share despite positive comparable EPS. Q3 comparable earnings and net sales

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.