S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component BB&T Corp (NYSE:BBT) will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, January 19, 2012. BB&T is a financial holding company which, through its subsidiary Branch Banking and Trust, provides a range of banking services and loans to individuals and businesses.

BB&T Corp Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet.

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net income of 53 cents per share, a rise of 76.7% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved up from 50 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved up. It has been unchanged at 53 cents during the last month. For the year, analysts are projecting profit of $1.81 per share, a rise of 56% from last year.

Past Earnings Performance: The company has beaten estimates the last four quarters and is coming off a quarter where it topped forecasts by 3 cents, reporting net income of 52 cents per share against a mean estimate of profit of 49 cents per share.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: Analysts are projecting a decline of 4.8% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $2.19 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts seem relatively indifferent about BB&T with 19 of 29 analysts surveyed maintaining a hold rating.

A Look Back: In the third quarter, profit rose 74.3% to $366 million (52 cents a share) from $210 million (30 cents a share) the year earlier, exceeding analyst expectations. Revenue fell 15% to $2.44 billion from $2.87 billion.

Key Stats:

The company has seen net income rise in three straight quarters. Net income rose 46.2% in the second quarter and 19.7% in the first quarter.

Revenue has fallen in the past four quarters. Revenue declined 13.3% in the second quarter from the year earlier, dropped 8.9% in first quarter from the year-ago quarter and 2.5% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.

Competitors to Watch: JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI), PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC), Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP), Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE:RF), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC), First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN), First Security Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSGI), and First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA).

Stock Price Performance: During October 18, 2011 to January 13, 2012, the stock price had risen $4.47 (19.6%) from $22.76 to $27.23. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between January 6, 2012 and January 13, 2012 when shares rose for six-straight days, rising 5.6% (+$1.44) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between June 20, 2011 and June 24, 2011 when shares fell for five-straight days, falling 3.1% (-81 cents) over that span.

(Company fundamentals by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

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