Earnings Expectations For The Week Of December 22

Quarterly reports will be very few this week, due to the holidays. The only

results of note on the schedule are those from

. Analysts are looking for solid results from the specialty retailer. Below is a closer look at what is expected from Walgreen, as well as a few other companies sharing their most recent results this shortened week.

The fiscal first-quarter forecast for the largest drug retailing chain in the United States calls for earnings per share (EPS) to have grown from $0.72 in the year-ago period to $0.75. Revenues for the period that ended in November are expected to have risen more than 6 percent to $19.50 billion in Tuesday morning's report. Note that Walgreen's earnings have not exceeded consensus expectations in the past four quarters, falling short, though by less than 4 percent, in two of them. However, the analysts' EPS estimate has ticked up by a penny in the past 60 days. So far, sequential and year-on-year growth of both EPS and revenue is anticipated in the current quarter. Shareholders are set to vote on the merger with Alliance Boots after the earnings report. Walgreen posted strong sales results for both September and October, and it saw some

during the quarter. Shares rose more than 14 percent during the just completed quarter, and they are now up more than 27 percent year to date, compared with about 12 percent for the S&P 500.

In its report late Tuesday,

, the largest egg producer in the United States, is expected to say that earnings jumped more than 35 percent from in the year-ago quarter to $0.85 per share for the three months that ended in November. Note, that EPS estimate was just $0.75 some 60 days ago. While Yahoo Finance listed no revenue forecast for the fiscal second quarter, sales in that period have risen in each of past three years, from $290.37 million to $328.87 million to $354.27 million, respectively. Long term, revenue growth is projected at more than 10 percent.

Analysts expect North Carolina-based utility

to say that it had a net loss of $0.07 per share in its fiscal fourth quarter. That would be the same as in the year-ago period. Revenues for the period are forecast to come in at $211.00 million, which would be more than 5 percent higher. The full-year forecast is for EPS to have risen more than 6 percent year-over-year to $1.90, when Piedmont shares its results Tuesday morning. That would be on revenue that is up more than 12 percent to $1.44 billion. The consensus EPS estimates for both the quarter and the year are the same as they were 60 days ago.

The forecast for business equipment and furniture maker

calls for a profit of $0.26 per share and for revenue to come to $826.10 million for its fiscal third quarter. In the year-ago period, the company posted EPS of $0.29 and revenue totaled $784.80 million. Steelcase missed consensus EPS forecasts in just one of the past four quarters. For the current quarter that ends in February, there will be a narrow miss on the top line but a gain on bottom line, if analysts are correct, as well as growth on both the top and bottom lines for the full year. Look for Steelcase to release its third-quarter results Monday after the closing bell.

Not surprisingly, there will be little to speak of in terms of earnings in the following week. After the new year, look for scheduled reports from the likes of Bed Bath & Beyond, Family Dollar, Infosys, Micron Technology and Monsanto. Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following

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