Ball Stock Gets Reduced EPS Estimate from Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered Ball’s Q4 2026 EPS estimate to $0.96 from $0.97, while forecasting full-year 2028 EPS of $4.98. Ball’s current full-year consensus EPS estimate is $4.01.
• Ball’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $1.03 versus the $0.99 consensus and revenue of $4 billion, up 19.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: Ball has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $71.15 average price target, compared with a recent share price of $62.74.

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for Ball in a research note issued on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $0.96 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.97. The consensus estimate for Ball's current full-year earnings is $4.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ball's Q3 2027 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $1.25 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $1.25 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.98 EPS.

Ball (NYSE:BALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.69 billion. Ball had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 6.61%. The firm's revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS.

BALL has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Ball from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Truist Financial set a $78.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ball from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ball from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Ball from a "buy" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ball has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.15.

Ball Stock Performance

NYSE BALL opened at $62.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Ball has a 1-year low of $44.83 and a 1-year high of $68.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $60.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.21.

Ball Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Ball's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mandy Glew sold 5,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.80, for a total value of $358,938.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,934.20. This trade represents a 43.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ball

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BALL. NFSG Corp purchased a new position in Ball in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,066,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Ball by 173.0% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 71,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,990,000 after acquiring an additional 45,125 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Ball by 164.5% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Ball by 150.4% during the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 1,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Ball by 14.6% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 8,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares during the period. 86.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ball Company Profile

Ball Corporation NYSE: BALL is a global packaging company that develops and manufactures sustainable aluminum packaging products. Its portfolio primarily includes aluminum beverage cans and bottles, aerosol containers, and other specialty packaging used by beverage, personal care, household and food companies. Ball also produces aluminum cups and related packaging solutions designed to support recycling and reduce reliance on single-use plastic.

Founded in 1880 by the Ball brothers, the company originally became known for glass home-canning jars before expanding into metal packaging.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.