Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ball (NYSE:BALL) Stock

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its target price hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $62.00 to $63.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

BALL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ball from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.40.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BALL opened at $52.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $50.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.25. Ball has a one year low of $43.51 and a one year high of $70.97.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Ball’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ball will post 3.48 EPS for the current year.

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

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

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