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Valued at a market cap of $14.6 billion, Ball Corporation (BALL) is a leading supplier of sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for the beverage, personal care, and household products industries. The Westminster, Colorado-based company manufactures and markets extruded aluminum aerosol containers, resealable aluminum bottles, aluminum cups, and aluminum slugs.
This packaging company has considerably underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. Shares of BALL have declined 12.3% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has gained 19%. Moreover, on a YTD basis, the stock is down marginally, compared to SPX’s 10% return.
Narrowing the focus, BALL has also lagged behind the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLB) 2.2% uptick over the past 52 weeks and 8.1% rise on a YTD basis.
On Aug. 5, BALL released better-than-expected Q2 results. Due to robust growth in sales across all of its reportable segments, the company’s quarterly revenue grew 12.8% year-over-year to $3.3 billion, surpassing consensus estimates by 6%. Moreover, its adjusted EPS of $0.90 advanced 21.6% from the prior-year quarter and came in 3.4% above Wall Street estimates. Additionally, noting its strong first-half performance, BALL raised its fiscal 2025 comparable EPS growth guidance, now expecting it to be between 12% and 15%. Despite this, its stock price plunged 5.8% after the earnings release.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect BALL’s EPS to grow 13.3% year over year to $3.59. The company’s earnings surprise history is promising. It surpassed the consensus estimates in each of the last four quarters.
Among the 14 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy” which is based on five “Strong Buy,” two "Moderate Buy,” six “Hold,” and one “Strong Sell” rating.
This configuration is slightly less bullish than two months ago, with six analysts suggesting a “Strong Buy” rating.
On Aug. 7, Arun Viswanathan from RBC Capital maintained a "Buy" rating on BALL, with a price target of $70, implying a 27.5% potential upside from the current levels.
The mean price target of $64.46 represents a 17.4% premium from BALL’s current price levels, while the Street-high price target of $84 suggests an ambitious upside potential of 53%.
On the date of publication, Neharika Jain 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. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
