Earnings Preview: Civista Bancshares

Civista Bancshares CIVB announces its next round of earnings this Friday, October 23. Here is Benzinga's look at Civista Bancshares's Q3 earnings report.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, And Earnings Per Share?

Earnings and especially earnings per share (EPS) are useful measures of a company's profitability. Total earnings, which is also referred to as net income, equals total revenue minus total expenses. EPS equals to net income divided by the number of shares outstanding.

Earnings And Revenue

Based on Civista Bancshares management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.35 on revenue of $29.05 million. In the same quarter last year, Civista Bancshares announced EPS of $0.46 on revenue of $25.85 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

Analysts who cover this company will publish forward-looking estimates of its revenue and EPS each quarter. Averaging together every EPS and revenue prediction that each analyst makes about a company in a quarter yields the "consensus estimates." A company posting earnings or revenue above or below the consensus estimate is known as an "earnings surprise" and may move the stock by a considerable margin.

If the company were to match the consensus estimate when it reports Friday, EPS would have fallen 23.91%. Sales would be up 12.39% on a year-over-year basis. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Over the last 52-week period, shares are down 34.3%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders won't be happy going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Civista Bancshares is scheduled to hold the call at 13:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.