Will Ascena (ASNA) Miss Earnings? - Analyst Blog

Ascena Retail Group Inc. ASNA, a specialty retailer that offers clothing for women as well as teen girls and boys, is slated to report its third-quarter fiscal 2014 results on June 3, 2014. In the last quarter, it posted a positive surprise of 15.00%. Let's see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors Influencing the Quarter

Citing the industry trend, we believe this apparel retailer's third quarter results will benefit from the dynamic Easter sales during April and also from the arrival of spring. Moreover, we expect the company's sales to gain from the rapid expansion of its Lane Bryant stores, as well as from robust growth in its e-Commerce sales. However, results may slightly bear impacts of the extreme weather in February and diminished sale in March due to the shift of Easter into April.

Earnings Whispers?

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Ascena Retail Group is likely to beat earnings estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, #2 or #3 to surpass earnings estimates. However, this is not the case here, as you will see below:

Zacks ESP: ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for Ascena Retail Group is 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at 19 cents, which is in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Zacks Rank #3 (Hold): Ascena Retail Group's Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of ESP. However, we need to have a positive ESP to be confident about an earnings surprise.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some other companies you may want to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements:

The Cooper Companies Inc. COO has an Earnings ESP of +0.62% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

HD Supply Holdings Inc. HDS Earnings ESP stands at +11.77% and it carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Joy Global Inc. JOY with an Earnings ESP of +4.29% holds a Zacks Rank #3.