Dominion Resources, Inc. D will release fourth-quarter 2016 financial results before the market opens on Feb 1. Last quarter, this electric utility reported a positive earnings surprise of 9.62%. Let’s see how things are shaping up at the company prior to this announcement.
Factors to Consider
In the fourth quarter, Dominion expects partnership income from one of its largest solar projects, Four Brothers in Utah, to deduct 2 cents from the bottom line on account of a timing issue. Meanwhile, above-average temperatures in the company’s service territories are likely to hit its top line.
For the fourth quarter, management anticipates operating earnings in the range of 90 cents to $1.05 per share, up from 70 cents earned in the year-ago period.In the to-be-reported quarter, Dominion decided to drop down Questar Pipeline to Dominion Midstream Partners, following the closure of the Dominion-Questar Corporation merger. Dominion received $1.725 billion for the deal which was completed on Dec 1, 2016. The transaction will support Dominion’s cash flows.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Dominion is likely to beat estimates this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) for this to happen. But that is not the case here, as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: The Most Accurate estimate is pegged at 99 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is $1.00, resulting in an Earnings ESP of -1.00%.
You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Dominion Resources, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise
Dominion Resources, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Dominion Resources, Inc. Quote
Zacks Rank: Though Dominion’s Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of ESP, its negative ESP makes surprise prediction difficult this quarter.
Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks to Consider
Here are a few stocks in the utility space worth considering as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Black Hills Corporation BKH is slated to report earnings on Feb 1. It is has an Earnings ESP of +7.07% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Exelon Corporation EXC has an Earnings ESP of +2.27% and a Zacks Rank #2. It is expected to release its quarterly numbers on Feb 8.