Loop Capital Cuts Ball (NYSE:BALL) Price Target to $78.00

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its price target reduced by Loop Capital from $83.00 to $78.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.40.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BALL opened at $52.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. Ball has a one year low of $43.51 and a one year high of $70.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.12, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $50.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.33.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Ball will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Ball’s payout ratio is currently 6.32%.

Institutional Trading of Ball

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ball during the fourth quarter worth about $94,861,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in Ball by 531,933.3% during the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 47,874 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ball by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,891,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,253,000 after buying an additional 36,809 shares during the period. Aviva PLC grew its stake in Ball by 63.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 523,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,875,000 after buying an additional 203,298 shares during the period. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Ball by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 37,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,053,000 after acquiring an additional 18,809 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.