Is Altra Industrial (AIMC) Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates? - Analyst Blog

Industrial electrical equipment manufacturer, Altra Industrial Motion Corp. AIMC is set to report first-quarter 2014 results on Apr 25, before the opening bell. In the last quarter, the company delivered 2.70% positive earnings surprise. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to Consider this Quarter

In the fourth quarter of 2013, Altra Industrial reported improved year-over-year results, with adjusted earnings per share of 38 cents, 5.6% higher than the year-ago quarter. Total revenue in the quarter increased 1.9% year over year to $180.5 million. The improvement in revenues was primarily due to Altra's inorganic growth.

Management expects the cost control initiatives will further improve the company's earnings in the quarters ahead. Additionally, the Svendborg acquisition is expected to be accretive to the 2014 results. Altra expects revenues in the range of $800.0 to $825.0 million in 2014 and adjusted earnings per share in the $1.85 to $2.00 range.

Earnings Whispers?

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Altra Industrial is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank of #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. That is not the case here as we see below.

Zacks ESP:  This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at 50 cents flat with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Hence, the difference is 0.00%.

Zacks Rank: Altra Industrial's Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) when combined with a 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult. We caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks #4 and 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revision momentum.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are other companies you may want to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Colfax Corporation CFX, Earnings ESP of +4.65% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Manitex International, Inc. MNTX, Earnings ESP of +5.56% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc. LECO, Earnings ESP of +1.11% and a Zacks Rank #3.