Entergy Corp First Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Entergy Corp (NYSE:ETR) will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, April 26, 2012. Entergy is an energy company involved in electric power production and retail electric distribution operations.

Entergy Corp Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for net loss of 87 cents per share, a swing from net income of $1.38 in the year-earlier quarter. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved down from $1.18. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved down. It also has dropped from $1.14 during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 28% compared to last year’s $5.49.

Past Earnings Performance: The company missed estimates last quarter after beating forecasts in the prior two. In the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, the company reported profit of 94 cents per share versus a mean estimate of net income of 96 cents per share. In the third quarter of the last fiscal year, the company beat estimates by 17 cents.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: Analysts predict a rise of 2% in revenue from the year-earlier quarter to $2.59 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts seem relatively indifferent about Entergy with 10 of 13 analysts surveyed maintaining a hold rating.

A Look Back: In the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, profit fell 31.4% to $160 million (88 cents a share) from $233.3 million ($1.28 a share) the year earlier, missing analyst expectations. Revenue fell 1.7% to $2.49 billion from $2.53 billion.

Key Stats:

After net income dropped last quarter, the company is looking to recover after that decline snapped a streak of consecutive profit increases. Net income rose 15.9% in the first quarter of the last fiscal year, 0.1% in the second quarter and 27.1% in the third quarter before falling in the fourth quarter.

Stock Price Performance: Between January 25, 2012 and April 20, 2012, the stock price fell $4.38 (-6.3%), from $70.03 to $65.65. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between March 6, 2012 and March 13, 2012, when shares rose for six straight days, increasing 2.6% (+$1.74) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between July 25, 2011 and August 4, 2011 when shares fell for nine straight days, dropping 9% (-$5.99) over that span.

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

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