The three major U.S. equity indexes closed mixed on Friday. The Dow Jones industrials ended the day up 0.45%, while the S&P 500 closed 0.03% lower and the Nasdaq was down 0.52%. Seven of 11 sectors closed higher, with real estate (0.64%) and utilities (0.63%) posting the biggest gains. Communication services (−0.70%) and tech (−0.67%) lagged.

In early trading Monday, the delivery price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell below the futures price, a market condition known as contango. WTI sank to $73.60 a barrel and recently traded below its July 2023 delivery price of $74.14. This is an 11-month low and down around $50 a barrel lower compared to the high posted in March. The lower price still implies solid profits for producers.

Economic reports due this week include the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index (Tuesday),  the crude oil inventory report (Wednesday), the weekly report on new claims for jobless benefits (Thursday), the personal consumption and expenditure (PCE) report from October (also Thursday) and the nonfarm payroll report for November (Friday).

The three major indexes traded lower in the first few minutes of Monday’s regular trading session.

Chinese e-commerce firm Pinduoduo reported third-quarter results before markets opened on Monday, including revenue of $4.99 billion and adjusted earnings per American depositary share of $1.21, well above expectations. The stock trading nearly 13% higher shortly after Monday’s opening bell, after posting a new 52-week high.

Before U.S. markets open on Tuesday, Bilibili is on deck to report quarterly results. CrowdStrike and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are expected to post their results after markets close Tuesday.

Here is what to expect when the following three firms report quarterly results first thing Wednesday morning.

Frontline

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) operates a fleet of about 70 tankers transporting crude oil and refined products worldwide. Its stock has more than doubled over the past 12 months, but the climb has been choppy.

Last week, the day rate reached $100,000 for the first time in more than two years on the benchmark trade route between North America and Europe. The price cap on Russian crude already has forced the country to take longer routes to Asian markets rather than the short routes to traditional European markets. That supports high pricing on other routes, price increases are likely to continue, and that will benefit shippers like Frontline.

Of just five analysts covering the stock, three have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. At a recent share price of around $13.80, the potential upside based on a median price target of $15.50 is 12.3%. At the high price target of $17.00, the upside potential is 23.2%.

Third-quarter revenue is forecast at $227.51 million, which would be up almost 43% sequentially and by 230% year over year. Analysts expect adjusted EPS of $0.38 per share, up 81% sequentially, as well as up from a loss per share of $0.18 in the year-ago quarter. For the full 2022 fiscal year, Frontline is expected to report EPS of $1.29, up from a loss per share of $0.28 in 2021, on revenue of $833.53 million, up 133.7%.

The stock trades at 7.0 times the expected 2022 EPS and 4.5 times the estimated 2023 earnings of $3.06 per share. Frontline’s 52-week trading range is $6.10 to $14.73. The company has suspended its dividend. Total shareholder return for the past year was nearly 105%.

KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BEKE) is a Beijing-based online real estate brokerage. Its share price is down almost 32% over the past 12 months. For the last month, however, shares have gained nearly 39% because the government has backed off (slightly) its strict zero-COVID policy.

More critical for real estate brokers, though, is the apparent corner that Xi Jinping and the government have painted themselves into. Local governments have borrowed heavily to sustain themselves during the lockdowns, and interest payments are coming due. The central government almost has no choice but to bail out the locals. What remains to be seen is if a bailout will attract buyers back into the real estate market or simply take some pressure off developers.

Of 17 analysts covering the company, 15 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating and the others have a Hold rating. At a share price of around $14.30, the stock’s implied upside based on a median price target of $19.92 is about 39.3%. At the high price target of $27.04, the upside potential is 89.1%.

Analysts expect KE Holdings to report third-quarter 2022 revenue of $2.38 billion, up 16% sequentially and down from $18.1 billion in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are seen at  $0.13, up from a loss per share of $0.08 in the prior quarter and a loss of $0.75 in the year-ago quarter. For the full 2022 fiscal year, EPS are forecast at $0.17, down 43.5%, on sales of $8.61 billion, down 32.3% year over year.

The stock trades at 83.8 times expected 2022 EPS, 24.5 times estimated 2023 earnings of $0.58 and 20.9 times estimated 2024 earnings of $0.68 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $7.31 to $24.85, and the company does not pay a dividend. Total shareholder return over the past year is negative 34.9%.

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Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Ltd. (NYSE: NAT) operates a fleet of 24 oil tankers capable of transporting up to 1 million barrels of crude oil each through the Suez canal. Over the past 12 months, shares have more than doubled, primarily for all the same reasons described for Frontline.

The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.05, significantly better than Frontline’s lack of any dividend. Once the share price increases cool off, Nordic and the other oil shippers could well boost their dividends further. Nordic paid a quarterly dividend of $0.427 in the first half of 2016 before falling to $0.01 five years later.

Just three analysts cover the stock, and two have a Buy rating, while the other rates the shares at Hold. At a price of around $3.50 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $4.00 is 12.5%. At the high target of $5.00, the upside potential is nearly 43%.

For the company’s third quarter of fiscal 2022, analysts are expecting revenue of $44.6 million, up 28.4% sequentially and up from $9.31 million in the year-ago quarter. The shipper is expected to post EPS of $0.04, compared to a loss per share of $0.02 in the prior quarter and a year-ago loss of $0.22 per share. For the full fiscal year, the adjusted loss is forecast to come in at $0.01 per share, up from a prior-year loss of $0.68 per share, on sales of $152.41 million, up nearly 126%.

Nordic American stock trades at 10.5 times the estimated 2023 EPS of $0.34 and 4.8 times the estimated 2024 earnings of $0.74 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $1.40 to $3.94. The company pays an annual dividend of $0.20 (yield of 5.71%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 91.5%.

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