Zacks Research Issues Negative Outlook for Ball Earnings

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ball in a report issued on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $0.86 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.88. The consensus estimate for Ball’s current full-year earnings is $3.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ball’s Q2 2026 earnings at $1.00 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $3.96 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.03 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.13 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.51 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.96 EPS.

BALL has been the topic of several other reports. Robert W. Baird set a $75.00 target price on Ball in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ball from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 price target on shares of Ball in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ball from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.46.

Ball Price Performance

Shares of BALL opened at $65.98 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $57.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.51. The company has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.13. Ball has a fifty-two week low of $43.51 and a fifty-two week high of $68.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.01. Ball had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 6.93%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue 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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BALL. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ball in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Ball during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Ball in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ball in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Ball Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Ball’s payout ratio is presently 24.10%.

Key Stories Impacting Ball

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several mid‑/long‑term forecasts — including FY2027 and FY2028 EPS estimates (to $4.51 and $4.96, respectively) and quarterly raises for Q1 2027 and Q4 2027 — which suggests analysts expect improving profit momentum beyond FY2026. Zacks revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Ball’s latest reported quarter beat EPS and revenue estimates and management provided FY guidance (recently cited at roughly $3.93 for FY2026), giving a baseline for the analyst updates — positive context, but not new company news. Earnings & guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: There are unrelated media items referencing the athlete LaMelo Ball (same surname) in a car crash — not connected to Ball Corporation but could create headline noise for some scanners. LaMelo crash video LaMelo article
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed near‑term estimates — cutting FY2026 EPS (from $4.02 to $3.96) and lowering its Q1 2026 forecast — which can pressure the stock as investors focus on the upcoming year and near‑term cash flow. Zacks revisions

About Ball

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.