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Is Signet Jewelers (SIG) Likely to Disappoint in Q1 Earnings?

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Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG - Free Report) , a retailer of diamond jewelry, watches and other products, is slated to report first-quarter fiscal 2018 results on May 25. In the previous quarter, the company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a margin of 0.8%. Notably, in three out of the trailing four quarters, the company’s earnings beat the consensus mark by 9.2%.

What to Expect?

The question lingering in investors’ minds now is whether Signet Jewelers will be able to post positive earnings surprise in the quarter to be reported. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter under review is pegged at $1.67, down over 14% year over year. We note that the Zacks Consensus Estimate has been stable in the past 30 days. Analysts polled by Zacks expect revenues of $1,494 million, up over 5% from the year-ago quarter.

Factors at Play

Shares of Signet Jewelers have declined 19% in the past three months, wider than the Zacks categorized Retail-jewelry Store industry’s decrease of 5.3%. Sharp decline in share price is primarily due to tepid top-line performance. The company’s sales have missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing nine quarters. Moreover, it has also disappointed investors with dull same-store sales performance.

Management expects same-store sales in fiscal 2018 to decline in the range of low to mid-single-digit. In fiscal 2017, same-store sales had declined 1.9%. Further, the company anticipates earnings per share between $7.00 and $7.40, compared with fiscal 2017 figure of $7.45.

Signet Jewelers generates a significant amount of net sales outside the U.S. Due to exposure to international markets, it remains prone to currency fluctuations. The weakening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar may require the company to either raise prices or contract profit margins in locations outside of the U.S.

What Does the Zacks Model Unveil?

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Signet Jewelers is likely to beat on earnings 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. Signet Jewelers has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at $1.67. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

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

Signet Jewelers Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Signet Jewelers Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Signet Jewelers Limited Quote

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:

Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +10.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.86% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.56% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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