NYSE Stocks in Focus (BLL, CAH, RTN)

Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) slid 0.58% to $60.45. The company on Thursday said third-quarter attributable net income more than doubled to $227.5 million against $103.7 million in the year-ago period as it reported strong performances across its packaging and aerospace units.

On a per-share basis, the supplier of metal packaging products and services earned $2.50 against $1.09 and earned $1.40 on an adjusted basis, against $1.21.

A survey of analysts by FactSet Research was expecting the company to earn $1.42 a share on sales of $2.02 billion.

Over the past 52-week, the stock had traded within the range of $46.70-$62.68 and is up more than 16% year-to-date. Over the past five trading sessions, the stock went down more than 2%.

Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) added 2.63% to $34.29. The company swung to a fiscal first-quarter profit from a year-earlier loss on 1.4% lower revenue. Net income was $294.8 million, or 84 cents a share, against a loss of $38.2 million, or 11 cents, in the year-earlier period.

A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced consensus estimates of 54 cents a share of profit on $25.09 billion of revenue.

The company said it expects to reach the high end of its fiscal 2011 forecast of $2.38 to $2.48. FactSet's survey is looking for $2.44.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CNP) slid 0.12% to $16.40. The company said Thursday its third-quarter earnings rose to $123 million, or 29 cents a share, from $114 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Wall Street analysts expected CenterPoint to earn 27 cents a share, on revenue of $2.05 billion, according to a survey by FactSet Research. The company said it continues to expect 2010 earnings of $1.02 a share to $1.12 a share.

The stock opened at $16.42 and went up more than 11% year-to-date.