One of the leading operators of specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) is set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2012 results on Apr 10. Last quarter, it posted a positive surprise of approximately 1.0%. Now, let us see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Growth Factors in the Past Quarter
Bed Bath & Beyond’s improved comparable store sales performance and new store openings resulted in robust top-line growth in the last-reported quarter. The quarter also benefited from the acquisition of World Market and Linen Holdings. On the back of these factors, Bed Bath & Beyond’s earnings increased 8.4% year over year to $1.03 per share and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.
Additionally, we are impressed by the company’s initiatives of expanding and renovating stores as well as its focus on refreshing its merchandise mix to boost productivity. We believe that these initiatives along with its focus on boosting online presence and making technological advancements would bode well for future sales.
Earnings Whispers?
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Bed Bath & Beyond is likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP (Read: Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method) and a Zacks Rank #1, #2 or #3 for this to happen. However, this is not the case here, owing to the following factors:
Zacks ESP: ESP for Bed Bath & Beyond is 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate stands at $1.68, which is in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Zacks #3 Rank (Hold): Bed Bath Beyond’s Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) lowers the predictive power of ESP because the Rank #3, when combined with a 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult. We caution against stocks with Zacks Ranks #4 and #5 (Sell rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions momentum.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some other companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.
Cabela’s Inc. (CAB) with an Earnings ESP of +5.46% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Conns Inc.(CONN) with an Earnings ESP of +19.15% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) has an Earnings ESP of +5.56% and carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
BED BATH&BEYOND (BBBY): Free Stock Analysis Report
CABELAS INC (CAB): Free Stock Analysis Report
CONNS INC (CONN): Free Stock Analysis Report
NETFLIX INC (NFLX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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