Ball (NYSE:BALL) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Ball (NYSE:BALL) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.04, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. Ball had a net margin of 32.79% and a return on equity of 19.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BALL traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.01. 2,331,850 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,805,830. The stock has a market cap of $17.91 billion, a PE ratio of 4.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.88. Ball has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $71.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The business’s fifty day moving average is $65.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.01.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Ball’s payout ratio is currently 6.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BALL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ball from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ball from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.92.

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.