Central Garden & Pet Company CENT is slated to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2015 results on Dec 7. The big question facing investors is, whether this producer and marketer of lawn & garden products and pet supplies will be able to deliver a positive earnings surprise in the quarter to be reported. In the trailing four quarters, the company outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 35.6%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Zacks Model Shows Unlikely Earnings Beat
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Central Garden & Pet is likely to beat earnings estimates 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. Central Garden & Pet has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate both stand at a loss of 9 cents. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult.
Factors Influencing this Quarter
Central Garden & Pet is revamping both its Pet and Garden segments. The company intends to have a balanced approach that encompasses improvement in both the top and bottom lines through operational efficiency and targeted acquisitions. However, analysts remain concerned about the wild bird feed business that impacted the company’s performance in the third quarter, and may weigh on results in the quarter to be reported.
Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates
Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:
Casey's General Stores Inc. CASY has an Earnings ESP of +7.79% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
CarMax Inc. KMX has an Earnings ESP of +1.45% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Costco Wholesale Corporation COST has an Earnings ESP of +0.86% and a Zacks Rank #3.
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