Ball (NYSE:BALL) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Ball from $70.00 to $63.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $49.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.30.

Ball Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $50.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.27. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.80, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ball Co. will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Ball's payout ratio is presently 6.32%.

Ball announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ball by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ball by 764.9% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 813 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 4th quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ball in the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company's stock.

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.