Zacks Research Has Negative Forecast for Ball Q1 Earnings

Ball Co. (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ball in a research note issued on Friday, April 4th. Zacks Research analyst S. Deb now expects that the company will earn $0.69 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.70. The consensus estimate for Ball's current full-year earnings is $3.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ball's Q2 2025 earnings at $0.84 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.88 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.45 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $0.99 EPS.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Ball had a net margin of 33.98% and a return on equity of 16.17%. Ball's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Ball from $78.00 to $73.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $49.00 price target (down previously from $56.00) on shares of Ball in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Ball from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.20.

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Ball Price Performance

BALL stock traded up $2.16 on Monday, hitting $48.12. 3,255,243 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,105,809. The stock has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.01. Ball has a 1-year low of $43.51 and a 1-year high of $71.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.58 and a 200-day moving average of $56.48.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.66%. Ball's payout ratio is 6.32%.

Ball announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 29th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 24.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Ball by 68.9% during the fourth 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 raised its stake in shares of Ball by 328.4% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 664 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ball by 764.9% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 813 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ball in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Ball in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.51% of the company's stock.

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.