Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Aegion (AEGN) Q1 Earnings: Is a Disappointment in Store?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Aegion Corporation will release first-quarter 2017 results on May 2, after market close.

Last quarter, Aegion beat estimates by 29.4%. The company managed to beat earnings in two of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average positive surprise of 15.08%.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Aegion Corp Price and EPS Surprise

 

Aegion Corp Price and EPS Surprise | Aegion Corp Quote

Factors to Consider

Aegion’s results have been affected by the tepid upstream oil and gas environment due to low oil prices. Despite a favorable outlook for municipal pressure pipe rehabilitation in North America, soft oil prices may weigh on midstream projects in the quarter to be reported. Further, the company’s first-quarter gross margin performance is always affected by higher payroll tax cost. Aegion’s performance is also likely to be hurt by escalating operating and interest expenses.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Aegion is likely to beat estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below:

Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP for Aegion is currently -10.53%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate is 17 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at 19 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Aegion currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Share Price Performance

Aegion outperformed the Zacks categorized Building & Construction Products Miscellaneous industry over the past six months. The company’s shares gained around 23.4% compared with 18.3% growth recorded by the industry.

Stocks that Warrant a Look

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 this quarter:

TopBuild Corp. (BLD - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LPX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +27.59% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Boise Cascade Company (BCC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +44.44% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Looking for Ideas with Even Greater Upside?

Today's investment ideas are short-term, directly based on our proven 1 to 3 month indicator. In addition, I invite you to consider our long-term opportunities. These rare trades look to start fast with strong Zacks Ranks, but carry through with double and triple-digit profit potential. Starting now, you can look inside our home run, value, and stocks under $10 portfolios, plus more.

Click here for a peek at this private information >>

Published in