Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,130,000 shares, a decrease of 15.3% from the August 15th total of 7,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Ball Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE BALL traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,392,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,840,256. Ball has a twelve month low of $42.81 and a twelve month high of $71.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.11. The firm has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.04. Ball had a return on equity of 19.45% and a net margin of 32.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ball will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Ball’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Ball from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ball from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley raised Ball from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ball from $64.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Ball in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Ball during the 2nd quarter valued at $47,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ball by 2,341.5% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 598.6% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ball by 334.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. 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.