Ball (NYSE:BALL) Given New $54.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its price objective lowered by analysts at UBS Group from $55.00 to $54.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 13.52% from the stock’s previous close.

BALL has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.20.

Ball Trading Down 2.1 %

BALL traded down $1.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $47.57. 2,309,215 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,047,179. Ball has a fifty-two week low of $46.17 and a fifty-two week high of $71.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.43 billion, a PE ratio of 3.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.34.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The company’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ball will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Ball by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ball by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 26,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Ball by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Ball by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.