Nicor, Inc. Second Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Nicor, Inc. (NYSE:GAS) will unveil its latest earnings on Monday, August 1, 2011. Nicor Inc. is a holding company which serves 2.2 million customers in most of the northern third of Illinois.

Nicor, Inc. Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for profit of 32 cents per share, a decline of 39.6% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. For the year, analysts are projecting net income of $2.67 per share, a decline of 11% from last year.

Past Earnings Performance: The company beat estimates last quarter after falling short in the prior two. In the first quarter, the company reported profit of 98 cents per share versus a mean estimate of net income of 92 cents per share. In the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, the company missed estimates by 6 cents.

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Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $392 million in revenue this quarter, a decline of 7.9% from the year ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $2.7 billion for the year, a decline of 0.4% from last year’s revenue of $2.71 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts seem relatively indifferent about Nicor with four of five analysts surveyed maintaining a hold rating.

Key Stats:

While the company has been profitable for the last eight quarters, income has fallen year over year by an average of 11.7% over the past four quarters. The quarter hit the hardest was the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, that saw a 27.4% drop.

Revenue has fallen in the past two quarters. In first quarter, revenue declined 13.1% to $1.04 billion from the year earlier quarter. In the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year, the figure fell 3.8%.

Competitors to Watch: Piedmont Natural Gas Co., Inc. (NYSE:PNY), Vectren Corporation (NYSE:VVC), AGL Resources Inc. (NYSE:AGL), Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO), The Laclede Group, Inc. (NYSE:LG), South Jersey Industries (NYSE:SJI), New Jersey Resources Corp. (NYSE:NJR), Energy Incorporated (AMEX:EGAS), Northwest Natural Gas (NYSE:NWN), and National Fuel Gas Co. (NYSE:NFG).

Stock Price Performance: During June 27, 2011 to July 26, 2011, the stock price had risen $1.50 (2.8%) from $53.95 to $55.45. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between June 23, 2011 and July 8, 2011 when shares rose for 11-straight days, rising 4.9% (+$2.62) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between May 31, 2011 and June 7, 2011 when shares fell for six-straight days, falling 2.5% (-$1.36) over that span. Shares are up $6.39 (+13%) year to date.

(Source: Xignite Financials)

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