Investing

Top 10 Corporate Earnings for the Week Ahead

Corporate earnings season is just reaching its peak, and 24/7 Wall St. has put together a preview of some of the larger companies reporting in the coming week. We have taken a review of the consensus earnings estimates from Thomson Reuters, the stock price and the trading history, and added some additional color on each.

Coke

Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is set to report its fourth-quarter results on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $0.42 in earnings per share (EPS) and $10.76 billion in revenue.

In Coke’s future, two driving factors will be its recent stakes taken in Keurig Green Mountain Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) and in Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ: MNST). Moving beyond carbonated beverages and bottled water is key, and moving into coffee and energy drinks may be a differentiating factor for the company.

Shares ended trading at $41.45 Friday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $44.61 and a 52-week trading range of $36.89 to $45.00.

PG&E

PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) will report its fourth-quarter earnings Tuesday. The consensus estimates call for EPS of $0.53 and $4.03 billion in revenue.

PG&E is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. The stock grew roughly 40% in 2014.

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Shares of PG&E closed trading at $56.06 Friday. The stock has a consensus price target of $57.28 and a 52-week trading range of $41.40 to $60.21.

Applied Materials

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) is scheduled to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings Wednesday. The consensus estimates are for $0.27 in EPS and revenue of $2.34 billion.

The company has long been the powerhouse name in chip capital equipment, and it is a top pick for 2015 at Stifel. The company is ramping up its efforts to be a bigger player in the NAND sector. For Applied Materials, where its share has been low in this arena, the new architecture throws open doors for a new and very profitable business opportunity.

Shares were trading hands at $24.24 as of Friday’s close. The consensus analyst price target is $27.03, and the 52-week trading range is $16.93 to $25.71.

Cisco

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) will report its fiscal second-quarter results Wednesday. The consensus estimates are for $0.51 in EPS and revenue of $11.79 billion.

Currently, Cisco trades around 12 times its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. The networking giant also seems to have fought through numerous headwinds, including up and down demand from telecom carriers, weakness in emerging markets and threats to its very lucrative switching business, all of which the analysts feel are going away. Cisco also stands to benefit from a better corporate spending environment in Europe, as well as continued growth at home.

Shares ended flat on the day at $27.24 on Friday. The consensus price target is $28.63, and shares have traded in a 52-week range of $21.27 to $28.70.

Pepsi

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) is scheduled to share its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday. Analysts are looking for $1.08 in EPS and $19.66 billion in revenue.

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In its most recent earnings report, Pepsi came over the top of estimates on both the top and bottom lines. Through the fourth quarter, it expected organic revenue growth in the mid-single digits and productivity savings of $1 billion. Commodity price inflation in this time was also expected in the low single-digit range as well.

Shares of PepsiCo ended the week at $96.71. The consensus price target is $103.14, and the 52-week trading range is $77.01 to $100.70.

Tesla

Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday. The consensus estimates are for EPS of $0.31 and $1.23 billion in revenue.

The company beat the perennial category leader — the Nissan Leaf — in total January U.S. sales. The Model S sold 1,300 units, according to HybridCars.com, compared with sales of 1,070 for the Leaf. Note that, January car sales are typically sharply below December sales, when auto dealers do everything they can to pull sales forward to make their annual numbers.

Tesla shares traded at $217.36 as the week came to a close. The consensus price target is $272.16, and the stock has a 52-week trading range of $177.22 to $291.42.

Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) is set to post its fiscal first-quarter results Wednesday. Consensus estimates call for $0.45 in EPS and $4.67 billion in revenue.

This giant organic grocer has made a huge turnaround from where it was about eight months ago. To prove just how much the recovery has moved: Whole Foods shares have bounced roughly 44% from the post-warning lows of almost $36 in 2014. In mid-January we noted that Whole Foods shares have outperformed the S&P 500 by roughly 25 percentage points, returning about 33% since Argus recommended buying the shares on weakness. That note was first made following a disappointing earnings report in May.

Whole Foods shares closed trading at $53.53 on Friday. The consensus price target is $49.25. The 52-week trading range is $36.08 to $56.42.

AIG

American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) will release its most recent results Thursday. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $1.05 in EPS and $8.67 billion in revenue.

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AIG is a leading international insurance organization that serves over 130 countries. It works with commercial, institutional and individual customers. Note that it just expanded its footprint by acquiring an Irish health insurance provider.

By the end of Friday’s trading session, AIG shares were at $52.10. The consensus price target is $61.63, and the 52-week trading range is $47.64 to $56.79.

Groupon

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) is set to report its earnings Thursday. The consensus estimates are for EPS of $0.03 and revenue of $909.74 million.

At the beginning of February, Groupon was raised to Buy, all the way up from a Sell rating, at a boutique firm named Ascendiant Capital Markets. Shares tried to rally 2% initially following the call, but the realization that Ascendiant probably does not create millions on millions in share volume of new stock purchases based on its research kept the stock from running handily.

In Friday’s trading, shares closed at $7.39. The stock has a consensus price target of $8.61. Shares have traded between $5.18 and $11.21 in the past year.

Zynga

Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) is set to report its fourth-quarter earnings first thing Thursday. Analysts are looking for EPS of $0.00 on $201.11 million in revenue.

Zynga is a producer of some of the most popular social games, which are played by over 100 million monthly consumers. In its game portfolio, it boasts Farmville, Words With Friends and Zynga Casino. The management forecast that revenue would be in the range of $170 million to $200 million and that its net loss would be $51 million to $34 million.

Shares were changing hands at $2.74 at Friday’s close. Zynga’s stock has a consensus price target of $3.31 and a 52-week trading range of $2.20 to $5.89.

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