UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ball (NYSE:BALL) Stock Price

Ball (NYSE:BALL) had its target price cut by stock analysts at UBS Group from $60.00 to $55.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho raised Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.25.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of Ball stock opened at $49.90 on Thursday. Ball has a 52 week low of $49.00 and a 52 week high of $71.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.58. The firm has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a PE ratio of 3.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. Ball’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Ball will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 29th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ball during the 4th quarter worth approximately $774,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Ball by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 275,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,681,000 after buying an additional 87,120 shares during the last quarter. Estate Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Ball during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,825,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its position in Ball by 531,933.3% during the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 47,874 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.