Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) Short Interest Update

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) saw a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,740,000 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the October 31st total of 5,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Ball Stock Down 1.1 %

Ball stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.15. 1,797,562 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,692,829. Ball has a 52-week low of $54.06 and a 52-week high of $71.32. The firm has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.69, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $63.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.93.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. Ball had a return on equity of 17.46% and a net margin of 34.05%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ball will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BALL. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ball from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Ball from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird raised Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ball from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ball by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,954,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,144,000 after acquiring an additional 309,587 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Ball by 15.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,418,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,065,000 after purchasing an additional 588,282 shares in the last quarter. Mirova US LLC grew its stake in Ball by 0.5% in the second quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 2,495,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,780,000 after purchasing an additional 13,320 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ball by 7.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,414,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,951,000 after buying an additional 171,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Ball by 6.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,720,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,864,000 after buying an additional 99,306 shares in the last quarter. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.