Zacks Research Weighs in on Ball’s Q3 Earnings (NYSE:BALL)

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BALL) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for shares of Ball in a research note issued on Tuesday, February 17th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $1.08 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.12. The consensus estimate for Ball’s current full-year earnings is $3.48 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ball’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.02 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.14 EPS and Q3 2027 earnings at $1.20 EPS.

Ball (NYSE:BALL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Ball has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.930- EPS.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ball in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Ball from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a 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 company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ball from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ball from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ball currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.46.

Ball Price Performance

BALL opened at $66.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.57. Ball has a 12-month low of $43.51 and a 12-month high of $68.29.

Ball Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ball

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Ball by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,886,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,429,000 after acquiring an additional 999,690 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ball by 2.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,210,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,502,000 after purchasing an additional 207,733 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ball by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,225,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,742,000 after purchasing an additional 266,238 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ball by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,658,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in Ball by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,739,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,057,000 after purchasing an additional 922,747 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ball

Here are the key news stories impacting Ball this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several mid/long‑range targets (notably FY‑2027 and some late‑2027 quarter estimates), signaling confidence in Ball’s longer‑term earnings trajectory — a bullish read for growth expectations. Zacks raises FY‑2027/FY‑2028 estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published updated multi‑year model outputs (including a FY‑2028 EPS projection of $4.96). These provide a roadmap for future earnings but don’t change near‑term cash flow—useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Zacks issues FY‑2028 estimate
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed several near‑term quarterly EPS estimates across Q1–Q3 2026 and into 2027 (examples include reductions to Q1/Q2/Q3 outlooks and a lower FY‑2026 view), which can pressure short‑term sentiment and valuation multiple. These downward revisions explain some investor caution despite the longer‑range upgrades. Zacks cuts near‑term EPS estimates

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.