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

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) shares reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $51.02 and last traded at $51.48, with a volume of 1082210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BALL. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $49.00 target price (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ball from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Ball from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.17.

Ball Trading Down 8.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.42 and a 200 day moving average of $61.21. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 3.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.94.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 17.46%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ball Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid 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 6.03%.

Ball announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BALL. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Ball in the second quarter worth approximately $234,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 8.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the second quarter worth about $1,453,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Ball by 4.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 61,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,199,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ball by 143.6% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 5,819 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.