Ball (NYSE:BALL) Sets New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $69.77 and last traded at $69.60, with a volume of 445536 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.45.

The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.12. Ball had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 23.81%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Ball announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback 40,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BALL. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ball to $63.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ball in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ball from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 target price (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Ball from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel William Fisher bought 3,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.56 per share, with a total value of $249,782.64. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 111,866 shares in the company, valued at $7,222,068.96. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BALL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $444,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,741,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 66,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after purchasing an additional 3,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ball Stock Up 6.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $22.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.12 and its 200-day moving average is $58.03.

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.