BMC Software Third Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

Stock Price Performance: Between November 21, 2012 and January 22, 2013, the stock price had risen $3.68 (9.3%), from $39.68 to $43.36. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between August 1, 2012 and August 10, 2012, when shares rose for eight straight days, increasing 10% (+$3.74) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between June 29, 2012 and July 12, 2012 when shares fell for nine straight days, dropping 8.5% (-$3.61) over that span.

Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $587.4 million in revenue this quarter, a rise of 7.1% from the year-ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $2.25 billion for the year, a rise of 3.7% from last year’s revenue of $2.17 billion.

Key Stats:

On the top line, the company is looking to get back on the right track after last quarter’s drop snapped a string of revenue increases. Revenue rose 1.5% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year, 0.4% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year and 0.4%in the first quarter before dropping in the second quarter.

The company is trying to use this earnings announcement to rebound from profit declines in the last three quarters. Net income fell 42.3% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, by 43.5% in the first quarter and again in the second quarter.

Analyst Ratings: With seven analysts rating the stock a buy, none rating it a sell and four rating the stock a hold, there are indications of a bullish stance by analysts.

Balance Sheet Analysis: The company’s current ratio of assets to liabilities came in at 1.46 last quarter. The current ratio is an indication of a firm’s liquidity and ability to meet creditor demands and generally, for every dollar the company owes in the short term, it has that figure available in assets that can be converted to cash in the short term.

Stocks with improving earnings metrics are worthy of your extra attention. In fact, “E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework for this very reason. Don’t waste another minute — click here and get our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now.

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