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Ball Corp's (BLL) Unit Delivers JPSS-1 Weather Satellite

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Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., a unit of Ball Corporation , successfully delivered the Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Aug 31. JPSS-1 will provide actionable environmental intelligence to decision makers in government and business, and the general public as well.

JPSS-1 is the first operational version of the next-generation satellites to be managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as the program’s procurement agency. The satellite bus has been designed and built by Ball Corporation in accordance with its contract with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

The JPSS series of polar-orbiting weather satellites will work as the foundation of NOAA's operational environmental forecasting system for the next 20 years. The JPSS missions are funded by NOAA to provide global environmental data in low-Earth polar orbit.

The data provided by JPSS-1 will boost the accuracy of the numerical forecast models of severe weather events, three to seven days in advance. These forecasts will enable agency managers to make informed decisions in order to protect lives and property.

JPSS-1 will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base on Nov 10, 2017. Following the launch, this superior weather satellite will join the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (Suomi NPP). Suomi NPP, built by Ball Corporation and JPSS-1 jointly, provides global observations for U.S. weather and environmental predictions.

Ball Corporation’s aerospace business has been performing well and the company expects that the segment’s earnings will be up year over year in each of the remaining quarters of 2017. This upswing will be driven by incremental progress in the company’s Canton metal service center, improving manufacturing metrics, and the ramping up of new aluminum aerosol capacity in Europe and India to keep up with customers' growth.

Ball Corporation has underperformed the industry with respect to price performance in a year’s time, mainly due to escalating expenses and concerns regarding the food-can business. The stock has lost around 0.8%, while the industry recorded growth of 4.9%.



Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Ball Corporation currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

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AGCO has expected long-term growth rate of 13.5%.

Caterpillar has expected long-term growth rate of 9.5%.

Terex has expected long-term growth rate of 19.7%.

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