Heartland Advisors Inc. Takes $7.50 Million Position in Ball Corporation $BALL

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 120,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,497,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BALL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Ball by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 402.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 83,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,356,000 after buying an additional 67,289 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ball by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter valued at about $453,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ball during the 2nd quarter valued at about $696,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ball Price Performance

Ball stock opened at $63.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ball Corporation has a 12-month low of $44.83 and a 12-month high of $68.29.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. Ball had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ball Corporation will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Ball’s payout ratio is 22.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ball from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho set a $72.00 price objective on Ball in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ball from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup cut Ball from a “buy” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Ball from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ball has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.69.

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.