Ball (NYSE:BALL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Ball (NYSE:BALL) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Ball had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 34.05%.

Ball Price Performance

BALL stock opened at $55.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.25. Ball has a 12-month low of $51.96 and a 12-month high of $71.32.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Ball’s payout ratio is 6.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Ball from $69.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Ball from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $62.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Ball from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 target price (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ball has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.17.

Ball declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 reacquire up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.