Earnings Preview: Entergy's EPS, Revenue Expected to Rise

Entergy ETR announces its next round of earnings this Tuesday, November 1, 2011. Get the latest predictions in Benzinga's essential guide to the company's third quarter earnings report.

Earnings and Revenue:

Wall Street expects an EPS of $3.27/share and revenues of $3.47 billion. Entergy's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of $2.76/share on revenues of $3.33 billion. We'll know on Tuesday whether the company has managed the estimated 18.5% increase in EPS and 4.2% rise in revenues on a year-over-year basis.

Here's how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
EPS Estimate	$1.75	$1.37	$1.29	$2.73
EPS Actual	$1.76	$1.38	$1.30	$2.76

Stock Performance:

As of October 26, 2011, Entergy's current share price was $68.91. Shares are up 1% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has declined by 1.6%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

• Long-term shareholders are already wary of 12-month losses prior to the announcement

Average Stock Rating:

The average rating by analysts is a Hold. This rating has remained steady over the past ninety days.

Competitors:

Want to check out the performance of Entergy closest competitors? Take a look at some of the company's peers in the utilities sector.

• American Electric Power Company AEP: Hold with a $0.73 recent quarter EPS
• Cleco CNL: Hold with a $0.52 recent quarter EPS
• El Paso Electric Company EE: Hold with a $0.78 recent quarter EPS
• Exelon EXC: Hold with a $1.05 recent quarter EPS

The utility-electric power company's industry has seen price/earnings growth of 28% during the current fiscal year.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: Entergy is an energy company involved in electric power production and retail electric distribution operations.

Take Action:

There is your peek into Entergy's upcoming earnings numbers, including some competitors to watch around the time of the announcement. Check back in with us after the announcement for a full recap. In the meantime, here are some links to explore today.

• To see up-to-date news on Entergy, click here
• To see other trading ideas, click here
• To see other company earnings recaps, click here