Ball (NYSE:BALL) Hits New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $48.95 and last traded at $49.06, with a volume of 1058301 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.20.

Ball Stock 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 firm has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $51.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.96.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Ball's payout ratio is 6.32%.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Ball by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Ball by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ball by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 26,729 shares of the company's stock worth $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. increased its position in Ball by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 9,050 shares of the company's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ball by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.