Norges Bank Buys New Position in Ball Corporation $BALL

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,360,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $178,025,000. Norges Bank owned 1.25% of Ball at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Ball by 58.7% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 262,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,930,000 after buying an additional 97,264 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in Ball during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,570,000. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Ball by 276.5% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 35,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 26,184 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp grew its position in Ball by 125.9% during the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 75,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after buying an additional 42,134 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in Ball during the third quarter valued at approximately $618,000. 86.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ball Stock Performance

BALL opened at $52.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.01. Ball Corporation has a 1-year low of $44.83 and a 1-year high of $68.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Ball had a net margin of 6.86% and a return on equity of 18.69%. The company’s revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ball Corporation will post 3.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ball from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $73.00 price target on shares of Ball and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $72.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.54.

About Ball

Ball Corporation is a leading provider of sustainable aluminum packaging solutions and advanced aerospace technologies. Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, the company serves customers in the beverage, food and aerosol markets through a global network of manufacturing facilities. With an emphasis on sustainability and innovation, Ball designs and produces metal cans, bottles and ends that support recycling and reduce environmental impact.

The company’s packaging segment specializes in beverage cans for soft drinks, beer and energy drinks, as well as metal packaging for food and personal care applications.