Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Ball (NYSE:BALL)

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 13,336 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,214% compared to the average daily volume of 1,015 put options.

Ball Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BALL traded down $0.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.99. 612,741 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,936,914. Ball has a 1-year low of $48.95 and a 1-year high of $71.32. The company has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.53.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. Ball had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 33.98%. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Ball’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ball will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ball declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 24.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ball Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Ball’s payout ratio is 6.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BALL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ball from $72.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (down from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho upgraded Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ball presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BALL. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Ball by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ball by 328.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Ball during the third quarter worth $66,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Ball during the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Ball during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ball Company Profile

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.