EntryPoint Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 7,332 Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL)

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BALL. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 328.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Ball by 298.9% in the fourth quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Stock Performance

Ball stock opened at $50.37 on Wednesday. Ball Co. has a 12-month low of $48.95 and a 12-month high of $71.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last announced 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. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Ball’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Ball’s payout ratio is 6.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BALL. Mizuho raised shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.30.

Ball Company Profile

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.