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Westminster, Colorado-based Ball Corporation (BALL) supplies aluminum packaging products for the beverage, personal care, and household products industries. With a market cap of $20.6 billion, Ball’s operations span various countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as "large-cap stocks," Ball fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the packaging & containers industry. It focuses on manufacturing aluminum beverage containers, extruded aluminum aerosol containers, recloseable aluminum bottles, aluminum cups, and aluminum slugs.
Ball touched its 52-week high of $71.32 on April 30 and is currently trading 5.9% below that peak. BALL has gained 7.8% over the past three months, outpacing the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 4.1% gain during the same time frame.
Over the longer term, Ball looks even more appealing. While BALL has gained 16.7% in 2024, trailing behind the SPX’s 19.8% returns on a YTD basis, it has risen 32.8% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming the SPX’s 28.6% gains during the same period.
To confirm the bullish trend, BALL has traded above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since November 2023 with slight fluctuations.
Shares of Ball experienced a modest uptick of 1.1% after the release of its Q2 earnings on Aug. 1. It reported a 3.5% year-over-year sales decline to $3 billion, falling short of Wall Street’s topline expectations. This can be partly attributed to lower sales volumes and persistent supply chain challenges. Its net earnings attributable to shareholders also saw a decline of 8.7%, settling at $158 million. Additionally, the company reported a significant cash outflow of $995 million from operating activities in the first half of fiscal 2024, raising concerns about its cash-generation capabilities.
However, on a brighter note, Ball’s adjusted EPS of $0.74 exceeded consensus estimates by 1.4%, offering a glimmer of reassurance to investors.
Ball’s competitor, Crown Holdings, Inc. (CCK), gained 5.3% over the past 52 weeks and 2.5% in 2024 underperforming BALL.
Among the 15 analysts covering the BALL stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” The mean price target of $71.23 suggests a potential upside of 6.1% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi 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.
