Zacks Research Comments on Ball’s Q3 Earnings (NYSE:BALL)

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q3 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ball in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $1.19 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.20. The consensus estimate for Ball’s current full-year earnings is $3.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ball’s Q4 2027 earnings at $1.14 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.97 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on BALL. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ball from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ball in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Ball from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.00.

Ball Trading Up 2.3%

Ball stock opened at $60.49 on Thursday. Ball has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $68.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $16.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.14.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Ball had a return on equity of 18.12% and a net margin of 6.93%.The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ball by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,886,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,429,000 after acquiring an additional 999,690 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,225,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,742,000 after purchasing an additional 266,238 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ball by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,658,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830,434 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Ball by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,739,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,057,000 after purchasing an additional 922,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Ball by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,651,348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,521,000 after buying an additional 602,137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ball news, SVP Fauze Villatoro bought 1,551 shares of Ball stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $64.51 per share, for a total transaction of $100,055.01. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president directly owned 13,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $888,818.78. This represents a 12.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen Pitre sold 10,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.63, for a total transaction of $710,275.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 36,772 shares in the company, valued at $2,450,118.36. This represents a 22.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ball Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Ball’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.10%.

Ball Company Profile

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.