Central Garden & Pet Company (CENT) is set to report its third-quarter fiscal 2014 results on Aug 7, 2014. Last quarter, it posted a negative surprise of 8.5%. Let us see how things are developing for this announcement.
Growth Factors this Quarter
Despite being a leading name in the lawn, garden and pet supplies market, Central Garden & Pet has been facing troubles for some time now. Lower-than-expected earnings and consistently lower revenues from the Pet segment remain major concerns for the company. Also, stiff competition and seasonality of the Garden segment have added to the woes. Though the company is on an overhauling drive, it will take time to get back on the growth trajectory.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively project Central Garden & Pet as likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, #2 or #3 for this to happen. This is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: ESP for Central Garden & Pet is 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at 31 cents.
Zacks Rank: Central Garden & Pet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, we need to have a positive ESP to be confident of an earnings surprise call. We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 and #5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into an earnings announcement, especially when the company is witnessing negative estimate revisions.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) has an Earnings ESP of +0.79% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) has an Earnings ESP of +20.00% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Macy’s, Inc. (M) has an Earnings ESP of +1.16% and a Zacks Rank #3.
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