Ball (NYSE:BALL) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $51.02 and last traded at $51.48, with a volume of 1082210 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BALL shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Ball from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $62.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho upgraded Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ball currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.25.

Ball Stock Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.86, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $55.98 and its 200 day moving average is $61.07.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 34.05%. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.03%.

Ball announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ball during the 4th quarter worth about $774,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ball by 400.4% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 162,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,048,000 after purchasing an additional 130,175 shares in the last quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Ball by 46.3% during the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 275,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,681,000 after buying an additional 87,120 shares during the last quarter. Estate Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Ball in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,825,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Ball by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 89,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,111,000 after purchasing an additional 18,327 shares during the last quarter. 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.