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Earnings Previews: Altria, Las Vegas Sands, Sirius XM

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Before markets opened on Tuesday, United Parcel Service beat analysts’ profit and revenue estimates for the March quarter. UPS also reaffirmed revenue guidance of $102 billion for the 2022 fiscal year, slightly above analysts’ consensus. Shares traded up about 1.8% early Tuesday.

ADM beat estimates on both the top and bottom lines Tuesday morning, and the stock was up by about 2.5% in the first hour of trading. Corning also beat on the top and bottom lines and raised revenue guidance for the full fiscal year. The stock traded up by more than 4%. Homebuilder D.R. Horton beat estimates as well and issued guidance in line with expectations, and the stock has added more than 2% in early trading.

GE continued Tuesday morning’s streak of companies beating estimates, but CEO Larry Culp said that GE currently expects to match the low end of its previous guidance. The stock traded down 9.2%. PepsiCo also beat both revenue and profit estimates but issued profit guidance below analysts’ estimates, even though revenue guidance was higher than analysts are forecasting. The stock traded up about 0.9%. Raytheon beat the earnings per share (EPS) estimate but missed on revenue. Fiscal year guidance was mixed, and shares were basically flat in Tuesday’s early trading.

After markets close Tuesday, Enphase Energy, GM, QuantumScape and Texas Instruments are on deck to report March-quarter results. To round out the action, Alphabet, Chipotle, Microsoft and Visa also release will their earnings reports after the closing bell.

Before markets open on Wednesday, reports from Boeing, General Dynamics and Teck Resources are expected, along with those from Kraft Heinz, Spotify and T-Mobile. After markets close Wednesday, watch for reports from Ford, Meta Platforms, PayPal and Qualcomm.

Here is what analysts expect from three companies reporting quarterly results late Wednesday or early Thursday.

Altria

The maker and distributor of Marlboro cigarettes, Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), has added more than 25% to its share price over the past 12 months. The stock dropped sharply between early September and late November but has risen by about 34% since then. Tobacco and related products are popular consumer defensive stocks. Since the beginning of the year, consumer staples stocks are up about 16.4% and pay a dividend yield of 2.38%. Altria has more than doubled sector performance on both metrics. The company is set to report earnings before Thursday’s opening bell.

Sentiment on the company is positive, but not strong. Twelve of 18 analysts have put a Hold rating on the stock, while the other six rate the shares at Buy or Strong Buy. At a recent share price of around $55.20, the stock had outrun its median price target of $53.50. At the high price target of $68, the upside potential is 23.2%.

First-quarter revenue is forecast at $4.88 billion, which would be up 0.2% sequentially and flat year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast to come in at $1.09, down 0.2% sequentially but up about 1.9% year over year. For the full 2022 fiscal year, Altria is expected to report EPS of $4.84, up about 5%, on sales of $21.05 billion, down about 0.3%.

Altria stock trades at 11.4 times expected 2022 EPS, 10.7 times estimated 2023 earnings of $5.14 and 10.1 times estimated 2024 earnings of $5.45 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $42.53 to $57.05, and Altria pays an annual dividend of $3.60 (yield of 6.48%). Total shareholder return over the past year is 25.2%.

Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) has dropped about 40% of its value over the past 12 months. Most recently, a company-backed effort to get an initiative on the ballot to permit commercial gambling in northern Florida was summarily abandoned. The company’s properties in Macau have been battered by China’s strict coronavirus lockdown policies, and it has no U.S. properties to help offset the shortfall. So far, the company’s only moves in online gambling have been “strategic” investments in tech companies. Las Vegas Sands reports results after markets close on Wednesday.

Of 17 analysts covering the stock, 10 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. Another six rate shares at Hold. At a share price of around $35.40, the upside potential based on a median price target of $50.50 is 42.7%. At the high price target of $67, the upside potential is 89.3%.

Analysts have a consensus first-quarter revenue estimate of $1.13 billion, up 12.1% sequentially but 5.8% lower year over year. The consensus forecast also calls for a loss per share of $0.24 in the quarter, compared to the prior quarter’s loss of $0.22 per share, and a penny more than the year-ago loss for the quarter. For the full fiscal year, Las Vegas Sands is expected to post EPS of $0.11, compared with a loss per share of $1.18 a year ago. Sales are forecast to rise by 48.3% to $6.28 billion.

Las Vegas Sands stock trades at 328.9 times expected 2022 earnings, 16.5 times estimated 2023 earnings of $2.87 and 11.5 times estimated 2024 earnings of $3.76 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $31.26 to $62.85, and the company does not pay a dividend. Total shareholder return over the past year is negative 41%.

Sirius XM

Shares of satellite radio provider Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) have risen by about 1% over the past 12 months. What drives Sirius XM’s performance is self-paying consumers who received a trial period with their new car purchase and sign up to continue paying.

With car sales sliding due to all sorts of supply chain issues, and now the threat of inflation, consumers are holding back on discretionary purchases, like new vehicles or satellite radio. One bright spot for the company: there is negligible subscriber churn. The company reports results before markets open on Thursday.

Of 16 brokerages covering the stock, nine have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and another three rate the shares at Hold. At a price of around $6.10 per share, the potential upside based on a median price target of $7.50 is about 23%. At the high price target of $9, the upside potential is 47.5%.

The consensus estimate calls for first-quarter revenue of $2.15 billion, down 5.8% sequentially and up 4.4% year over year. Adjusted EPS are pegged at $0.08, up 0.3% (essentially flat) sequentially and up a penny year over year. For full fiscal 2022, Sirius XM is expected to report EPS of $0.32, down about 4.8%, on revenue of $8.98 billion, up 3.3%.


Sirius XM’s stock trades at 18.9 times expected 2022 EPS, 16.4 times estimated 2023 earnings of $0.37 and 14.7 times estimated 2024 earnings of $0.42. The stock’s 52-week range is $5.75 to $7.29, and the current annual dividend is about $0.09 (yield of 1.42%). Total shareholder return for the past 12 months was 0.9%.

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