Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.8333.

BALL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ball from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup raised shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Ball from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ball in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BALL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ball during the second quarter valued at approximately $192,463,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ball by 1,465.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,314,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230,791 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter worth $43,732,000. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 141.3% during the third quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,248,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,949,000 after purchasing an additional 731,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Ball by 55.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,055,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,270,000 after purchasing an additional 730,462 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of BALL stock opened at $56.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.13. Ball has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $60.28.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.02. The company had revenue of $3.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 17.89% and a net margin of 5.36%.Ball’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ball will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a leading provider of sustainable aluminum packaging solutions and advanced aerospace technologies. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the company serves customers in the beverage, food and aerosol markets through a global network of manufacturing facilities. With an emphasis on sustainability and innovation, Ball designs and produces metal cans, bottles and ends that support recycling and reduce environmental impact.

The company’s packaging segment specializes in beverage cans for soft drinks, beer and energy drinks, as well as metal packaging for food and personal care applications.