Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) is set to release fourth-quarter and 2019 results on Feb 19, before the opening bell. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 9.09%.
Moreover, Entergy has a four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 4.79% on average.
Let’s see how things have shaped up prior to this announcement.
Factors to Consider
The majority of Entergy’s service territories witnessed below normal temperature in the months of October and November, while in December its service area witnessed above normal winter. This indicates that weather may not have contributed much to the company’s fourth-quarter revenues.
The company’s Arkansas Nuclear One’s Unit 1 returned to service on Nov 20, following the completion of its 28th successful refueling and maintenance outage, which started on Oct 5. Notably, the plant’s Unit 2 continued operating during the Unit 1 refueling outage. Following Unit 1’s return to service, power supply to Entergy’s customers in the second half of the soon-to-be-reported quarter increased. We expect the upcoming results to reflect the effects of this unit’s return to service.
Entergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Entergy Corporation price-eps-surprise | Entergy Corporation Quote
However, the company had to bear outage related expenses, following the Tropical Storm Olga that hit Louisiana in October 2019.
This is likely to have pushed up Entergy’s quarterly expenses for restoring power and other associated restructuring costs, thereby affecting its quarterly bottom line.
On a brighter note, Entergy’s subsidiary closed its purchase of the 810-megawatt Choctaw County Generating Station in October. We expect positive synergies to benefit the company’s fourth-quarter results.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Entergy’s fourth-quarter earnings, pegged at 66 cents per share, indicates an improvement of 10% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Entergy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.
Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Entergy carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Stocks to Consider
Here are a few players from the Utilities sector that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the to-be-reported quarter.
Ameren Corp (NYSE:AEE) has an Earnings ESP of +2.73% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is set to announce fourth-quarter 2019 earnings on Feb 26.
The AES Corp (NYSE:AES) has an Earnings ESP of +0.76% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company will announce fourth-quarter 2019 earnings on Feb 28.
CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) has an Earnings ESP of +1.09% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company will announce fourth-quarter 2019 earnings on Feb 27.
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Ameren Corporation (AEE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Entergy Corporation (ETR): Free Stock Analysis Report
CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP): Free Stock Analysis Report
The AES Corporation (AES): Free Stock Analysis Report
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