Baird has upped its price target for Ball Corporation to $75.00 from $63.00 and retained an Outperform rating on the stock. The revised target implies material upside relative to the company's current market price, which was $61.77 at the time referenced, and stands close to Ball's 52-week high of $62.77. The stock has also shown notable momentum year-to-date, with a return of 16.61%.
The research note highlights Ball's progress in establishing steadier earnings and in allocating cash flow in a disciplined way. Baird said these developments could underpin greater than 10% earnings growth going forward. Supporting that view, analysts tracked in InvestingPro expect net income to improve this year, with consensus earnings per share projected at $3.67 for fiscal 2025.
Baird additionally pointed to an encouraging rebound in beverage can volumes across the U.S. industry. The firm views this recovery as an early signal that fundamentals in the broader packaging segment may be stabilizing. According to the analyst, beverage cans were the first subsegment to suffer the volume decline that affected the industry during the 2022-2024 period, so a turnaround there is seen as particularly meaningful for packaging demand.
The $75 price target that Baird set for Ball is based on roughly 17 times its estimate of the company's 2027 earnings per share, which the firm pegged at $4.45. Baird continues to list Ball Corp as a top pick within its coverage universe.
Recent reported results for Ball's fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 were mixed. The company posted earnings per share of $0.74, below the $0.90 analysts had expected, representing a 17.78% downside surprise on EPS. Revenue, however, exceeded expectations: Ball reported $3.35 billion in sales versus the $3.12 billion forecast, a 7.37% upside. Market reaction to the quarter reflected the stronger revenue performance and the companys forward-looking guidance, which was characterized as optimistic by observers and helped buoy sentiment despite the EPS shortfall.
Overall, Baird's upgrade of its price target rests on a combination of improving top-line trends in beverage cans, an expectation of disciplined cash deployment, and projected earnings growth supported by the firm's multi-year EPS assumptions. Investors and market participants will likely watch subsequent quarterly results and volume trends in the beverage can business for confirmation of the trajectory Baird describes.