ITT Earnings Preview: Analysts Expect Higher EPS, Revenue

ITT ITT unveils its next round of earnings this Wednesday, October 26, 2011. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Wednesday's third quarter earnings announcement.

Earnings and Revenue:

Ahead of the company's earnings announcement, analysts are expecting a positive EPS reading of $1.18/share and revenues of $2.85 billion. ITT's latest numbers will no doubt be compared with the company's year-ago quarter, when it reported a profit of $1.08/share on revenues of $2.64 billion. We'll have to wait for Wednesday to see if ITT has accomplished the estimated 9.3% rise in EPS and 8% increase 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	$1.16	$0.93	$1.26	$0.99
EPS Actual	$1.18	$0.98	$1.36	$1.08

Stock Performance:

At last check, shares of ITT were trading at $44.25. Shares are down 13.8% year to date. For a full 12 months, the return has declined by 5.2%. 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 for ITT is a Hold. Over the past three months this rating's strength has declined slightly.

Competitors:

Looking for a sympathy stock to trade or interested in the performance of other companies in the same sector? Take a look at some of ITT's peers.

• Boeing Company BA: Moderate Buy with a $1.25 recent quarter EPS
• FLIR Systems FLIR: Hold with a $0.43 recent quarter EPS
• General Dynamics GD: Moderate Buy with a $1.79 recent quarter EPS
• Goodrich GR: Hold with a $1.51 recent quarter EPS

ITT is in the diversified operations industry, which has experienced price/earnings growth of 1%.

Finally, a description of the company's main areas of operation: ITT Corporation is a global multi-industry company that designs and manufactures engineered products and related services.

Take Action:

Now that you have reviewed all the numbers, be ready to move if the upcoming ITT earnings report has any surprises. Also, come back to Benzinga after the announcement for a full recap and a guide to your next steps.

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