Media

What to Expect From Disney Earnings

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) keeps amazing Wall Street and Main Street with its earnings. It has a solid lineup of movies coming its way with Star Wars and other great features. Still, shares are marginally lower so far in the first month of 2015, and the stock remains priced where it has to beat earnings estimates.

The Mouse House will report its fiscal first-quarter earnings Tuesday after the markets close. Thomson Reuters has consensus estimates of $1.07 in earnings per share (EPS) and $12.87 billion in revenue. In the same period of the previous year, Disney posted $1.04 in EPS and revenue of $12.31 billion.

Disney is a top consumer media company with multiple streams of income to push revenue, and many Wall Street analysts see the stock outperforming on a near-term basis. With the movie studio business poised to improve and with accelerating theme park business, its network programming continues to drive viewership with extensive sports programming on ESPN. Combining that revenue growth with the company’s solid media networks and interactive presence, and the first-quarter revenues could be outstanding.

Just the day before earnings were set to be announced, two brokerage firms weighed in on Disney. RBC Capital had an Outperform rating for the stock and raised its price target to $100 from $96. FBR Capital Markets had an Outperform rating and raised its price target as well, to $120 from $105.

The 50-day moving average currently reads at $92.77, Disney shares have crossed under this for the first since October and are currently testing the moving average. Since the market sell-off at that time, the 50-day moving average has acted as strong support as it has only been approached a few times. The 200-day moving average has largely been immaterial at $87.05.

Disney shares were up 1% at $93.06 in the noon hour Tuesday. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $99.04 and a 52-week trading range of $69.88 to $96.43.

ALSO READ: The 24/7 Wall St. 2015 Bull and Bear Case for Disney

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