5 Important Earnings Announcements for Next Week
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Next week, a number of well known companies across multiple industries will be releasing their quarterly/year end results. Earnings releases are not only significant because they reveal the operational figures of a firm to eager investors, but also typically present the corporation’s outlook on the broad industry and specific business. On February 16th, for example, Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold producer will be releasing its fourth quarter and annual report; undoubtedly its past performance is crucial, but investors should also analyze the corporate outlook for the gold industry in general and the future operational activities of the firm.
MetLife (NYSE: MET), the global insurance and employee benefit provider will be releasing its earnings on February 14th with analysts expecting the company to generate earnings per share of $1.24 on revenue of $16.8 billion. In comparison, last year MetLife produced fourth quarter EPS figures of $1.14. MetLife recently announced that it will be shutting down its mortgage business in order to focus on its core operations. The closure will result in a $110 million operating loss.
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) will hold its earnings conference call on Wednesday morning; analysts are expecting the major retailer to see quarterly sales of $1.34 billion which will translate to EPS of $1.15, a 13% year-over-year drop. Deep discounts offered by retail chains as they aimed to rid inventories of warm winter clothes which didn’t sell due to a warm climate pushed down management’s guidance prior to the release. Analysts also believe Abercrombie revealed weak sales volumes during the holiday season on regular priced items.
Fertilizer manufacturing and distribution powerhouse CF Industries (NYSE: CF) will also be releasing its quarterly and year end results on February 15th. Analysts are expecting bottom line per share growth of 157% as EPS is forecasted to jump to $6.82. CF stock price has responded to the improved yearly performance and sentiment regarding the company as shares soared 30% over the last 12 months. In Q3 CF operating figures beat expectations by a wide margin; will Q4 have the same result?
International oil and gas E&P corporation, Apache (NYSE: APA) will be announcing its Q4 and 2011 operating figures on February 16th after the market closes with analysts expecting a modest EPS growth to $2.87. Having significant natural gas exposure, it will be interesting to note what management believes the future natural gas prices will be. Trading at a low P/E ratio of 10.15, Apache seems to be undervalued compared to its peers.
Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX) will hold its Q4 conference call on February 16th; analysts are expecting the gold miner to generate $3.75 billion revenue and earnings per share of $1.29, a bottom line growth of 36%. As the most dominant firm in the gold business, Barrick’s results will be watched by many analysts and investors to gauge the future fundamentals of the gold market. Barrick recently announced that it will begin mining gold, silver and copper from its Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic.
Although over 100 public companies will be releasing their results next week, these are some of the biggest names which should have the most appeal to investors. Since the aforementioned companies are large and well established names from a diverse group of industries, their performance can also serve as a broader indicator of the health of the overall economy.
The Motley Fool owns shares of CF Industries Holdings. apinkasovitch has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
