Ball (NYSE:BALL) Hits New 12-Month High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $69.77 and last traded at $69.60, with a volume of 445536 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.45.

The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 23.81% and a net margin of 5.04%. The company’s revenue was down 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Ball’s payout ratio is 35.71%.

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on BALL shares. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TheStreet upgraded Ball from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ball in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ball to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.58.

Insider Activity at Ball

In other news, insider Daniel William Fisher acquired 3,869 shares of Ball stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $64.56 per share, with a total value of $249,782.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 111,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,222,068.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BALL. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Ball by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 34,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,304,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Ball by 0.7% during the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 26,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ball by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 769 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a PE ratio of 31.17, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.89.

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.