More than 300 publicly traded companies are expected to report March quarter earnings next week as earnings season revs up.

We’ve already previewed results from two companies that report before Monday’s opening bell: Coca-Cola and Prologis.
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Here are previews of four companies scheduled to report before markets open Tuesday morning. Also see our separate preview of two more set to share their results after markets close Monday and two more first thing Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnson

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) added about 11% to its share price in 2020 and has gained less than 3.5% so far in 2021. But no one invests in this Dow 30 stock to realize massive share price gains. It is the solid total return (nearly 13% last year) that keeps investors buying the stock.

Of 23 analyst ratings, 12 are Buy or Strong Buy and eight rate the shares at Hold. The consensus price target on the stock is $185.44, and shares traded at around $161.70 on Friday, implying an upside of nearly 15%. At the high target of $201, upside potential reaches 24.3%

The consensus estimate for quarterly EPS is $2.34, up by four cents year over year, on sales of $22.01 billion, 6.4% higher than in the year-ago quarter. Fiscal year estimates call for EPS of $9.50 (up 18% year over year) and revenue of $92.25 billion, up 11.7%.

Johnson & Johnson stock currently trades at around 17.0 times expected 2021 EPS, 15.6 times estimated 2022 earnings and 14.7 times estimated 2023 earnings. The 52-week trading range is $133.65 to $173.65, and the company pays an annual dividend of $4.04 (yield of 2.53%).

Lockheed Martin

Aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) did not have a good year in 2020. The shares dropped by about 6.5% but have added more than 11% so far this year, to yield a gain since January of 2020 of about 3.7%. Lockheed was both the top federal contractor ($48.3 billion) and the top defense contractor ($46.8 billion) in 2019.

Ten of 22 analysts rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, and 12 have a Hold rating. The consensus price target is $418.69, and the shares currently trade at around $391.40, for a potential upside of nearly 7%. At the high price target of $462, upside potential is 18%.

The consensus estimate for quarterly EPS is $6.31 (up 3.8%) with revenue reaching $16.38 billion (up 4.7%). For the full year, analysts are looking for EPS of $26.31 on sales of $68.16 billion.

Lockheed stock currently trades at around 14.9 times expected 2021 EPS, 13.9 times estimated 2022 earnings and 13.3 times estimated 2023 earnings. The 52-week range is $319.81 to $417.62, and the company pays an annual dividend of $10.40 (yield of 2.66%).

Marlboro cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) saw a share price bump of about 3.7% in 2020. Since January 2020, Philip Morris stock has added about 16.5%, with all but around 2% of that gain coming in 2021.

Half of the 18 analysts covering the stock rate it a Buy or Strong Buy, and the other half rate it at Hold. The stock’s consensus price target is $100.22, and shares traded Friday at around $92.50, implying a potential upside of 7.5%. At the high target of $110, the upside potential is about 19%.
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Philip Morris is expected to report EPS of $1.40 (up 14.3% year over year) and revenue of $7.27 billion (up 1.7%). For the full year, EPS is tabbed at $5.96 (up about 15%) on sales of $31.04 billion (up 8.2%).

The stock currently trades at around 15.6 times expected 2021 EPS, 14.2 times estimated 2022 earnings and 13.1 times estimated 2023 earnings. The 52-week range is $66.85 to $92.62, and the high was posted on Friday. Philip Morris pays an annual dividend of $4.80 (yield of 5.23%).

Procter & Gamble

Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), like Johnson & Johnson, is a Dow Jones industrial component. Over the past 12 months, P&G has added about 16% to its share price, but shares are down so far this year. At its trough in early March, the stock was down nearly 12%, and it traded Friday down less than 1% for the year to date. The comeback is likely due to the company’s relative market strength and outlook.

Ten of 22 analysts covering P&G rate the shares a Buy or Strong Buy, while 10 recommend holding shares. The consensus price target is $150.73, and the current price is around $137.35, implying an upside potential of around 9.7%. At the high target of $167, the upside potential is nearly 22%.

Analysts expect the company to post quarterly EPS of $1.19, up two cents year over year, and revenue of $17.92 billion, up 4.1%. For the full year, EPS is forecast to reach $5.68, an increase of about 11%, on sales of $75.37 billion (up 6.2%).

The stock currently trades at around 24.2 times expected 2021 EPS, 22.7 times estimated 2022 earnings and 21.2 times estimated 2023 earnings. The 52-week range is $111.25 to $146.92. P&G pays an annual dividend of $3.48 (yield of 2.54%).

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