Ball (NYSE:BALL) Sets New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $43.51 and last traded at $46.75, with a volume of 7981414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BALL shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.20.

Ball Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.80, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $50.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.48.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.32%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Ball in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $774,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ball in the fourth quarter valued at $94,861,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ball by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,891,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,253,000 after buying an additional 36,809 shares during the period. Finally, Aviva PLC grew its position in shares of Ball by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 523,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,875,000 after buying an additional 203,298 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

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.