Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Forecast for Ball Earnings

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ball in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, December 11th. Zacks Research analyst M. Das now expects that the company will earn $3.15 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $3.14. The consensus estimate for Ball’s current full-year earnings is $3.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ball’s Q2 2025 earnings at $0.85 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.00 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.92 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.53 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $0.97 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.94 EPS.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. Ball had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 17.46%. The business’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ball from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Mizuho upgraded Ball from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ball in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ball from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.75.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE:BALL opened at $58.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 4.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.91. Ball has a 12-month low of $54.06 and a 12-month high of $71.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.35.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Ball’s payout ratio is 6.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Ball by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 18,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Ball by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 17.0% during the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 1,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Ball by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ball by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 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.