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Ball Corporation Hits New 52-Week High on Solid Prospects

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Shares of Ball Corporation reached a new 52-week high of $41.53 on Jun 1, eventually closing trade at $41.42. The stock has been gaining momentum since reporting upbeat earnings results for first-quarter 2017 on May 4.

The company has a market cap of $14.54 billion. Ball Corporation has long-term estimated earnings per share growth rate of 12%.

Moreover, this metal and plastic packaging manufacturer for beverages and foods, has gained 10.9%, outperforming the Zacks categorized Containers-Metal/Glass industry’s gain of 5.9%. Average volume of shares traded in the last three months was approximately 1.45 million.




What’s Driving it Upward?

The upsurge in the stock price reflects its positive earnings momentum. We have observed that Ball Corporation has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the last four quarters, registering an average positive surprise of 5.61%. In the last reported quarter, earnings per share outdid the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.76%.

Ball Corporation Price and Consensus
 

Ball Corporation Price and Consensus | Ball Corporation Quote

Ball Corporation reported first-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 76 cents per share, a 29% increase year over year. The company reaffirmed long-term financial goals. Further, it expects 2017 free cash flow to be in the range of $750–$850 million and capital spending of approximately $500 million. It also remains on track to deliver on free cash flow, EVA dollar growth, diluted earnings per share growth and cost savings targets for 2017 and beyond. Moreover, the company remains optimistic to deliver at least $150 million of synergies in second-half 2017.

The company continues to focus on financial benefits from optimizing its packaging, manufacturing, network along with beverage food and aerosol; and managing growth and investment in the aerospace business. Ball Corporation’s aerospace business reported improved first-quarter results, driven by solid contract performance and the initial ramp-up related to growing backlog. Despite continued government contracting issues, the business won many contracts. The performance of aerospace business will improve in the next quarter.

The current estimates for fiscal 2017 and 2018 for Ball Corporation have been going up lately. The stock has witnessed six upward estimate revisions for fiscal 2017 and five upward revisions for fiscal 2018 in the past one month. This positive outlook helped to lift current quarter fiscal estimate by 4% to $2.17 per share and for the next fiscal by 2% to $3.02.

Stocks to Consider

Ball Corporation currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the same sector include AGCO Corporation (AGCO - Free Report) , Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT - Free Report) and Parker-Hannifin Corporation (PH - Free Report) . All the three stocks flaunt a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AGCO has an average positive earnings surprise of 40.39% in the trailing four quarters. Caterpillar generated an average positive earnings surprise of 40.25% in the past four quarters. Parker-Hannifin has an average positive earnings surprise of 14.94% in the last four quarters.

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