With a market cap of $17.8 billion, Ball Corporation (BALL) is a global leader in sustainable aluminum packaging, primarily supplying beverage cans, aerosol containers, and other metal packaging solutions for the beverage, personal care, and household products industries. The company was founded in 1880 and is headquartered in Westminster, Colorado with operations spanning various countries in the Americas, Europe, Indo-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
The packaging behemoth has outperformed the broader market over the past year. Ball stock has increased 32.1% over the past 52 weeks and 25.8% on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 15.6% gains over the past year and 1.7% returns on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, Ball has also underperformed the sector-focused State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLY) 4.2% gains over the past year and 1.6% downtick on a YTD basis.
On Feb. 3, Ball shares rose 9% after the company posted its fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter earnings. It reported sales of $3.35 billion, up 16 % year-over-year as global aluminum packaging volumes grew around 6 %. Its non-GAAP EPS was $0.91, higher than the prior-year quarter’s $0.84. The quarter benefited from strong volume and favorable pricing mix, helping offset cost pressures,
For the current fiscal year ending in December, analysts expect Ball to deliver an adjusted EPS of $3.97, up 11.2% year-over-year. Moreover, the company has a robust earnings surprise history. It has touched or surpassed the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 15 analysts covering the Ball stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on eight “Strong Buys,” one “Moderate Buys,” and six “Holds.”
This configuration is bullish than two months ago when the stock had six “Strong Buy” suggestions.
On Feb. 5, Anthony Pettinari of Citigroup reaffirmed a “Buy” rating on Ball and raised his price target to $74 from $67, reflecting a more optimistic outlook on the company’s growth and earnings prospects.
Ball’s mean price target of $70.75 represents a 6.2% premium to current price levels. Meanwhile, the street-high target of $77 suggests a staggering 15.5% upside potential.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com
