Ball (NYSE:BALL) Reaches New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Shares of Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $48.95 and last traded at $49.18, with a volume of 357027 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BALL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Ball from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and set a $49.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.25.

Ball Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.88 and a 200-day moving average of $60.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.06, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Ball Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Ball's dividend payout ratio is 6.32%.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase 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 Investors Weigh In On Ball

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ball during the 4th quarter worth about $774,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ball by 400.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 162,690 shares of the company's stock worth $11,048,000 after buying an additional 130,175 shares during the period. Estate Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the third quarter worth approximately $1,825,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Ball by 46.3% in the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 275,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,681,000 after buying an additional 87,120 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its stake in Ball by 531,933.3% in the fourth quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 47,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 47,874 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.