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What's in Store for Consolidated Edison (ED) in Q4 Earnings?

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Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED - Free Report) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 results on Feb 16, after market close.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered an earnings surprise of 10.88%. However, Consolidated Edison came up with a four-quarter average earnings surprise of 9.06%.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to get reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors to Consider

During most of fourth-quarter 2022, Consolidated Edison’s service territories witnessed more or less moderate weather pattern. This must have boosted electricity demand among the company’s customers, which, in turn, is expected to have contributed to the company’s fourth-quarter revenues.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $3.52 billion, indicating a 3% rise from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Consolidated Edison Inc Price and EPS Surprise

Consolidated Edison Inc Price and EPS Surprise

Consolidated Edison Inc price-eps-surprise | Consolidated Edison Inc Quote

A historic snowstorm affected Consolidated Edison’s service areas in November 2022, which might have had damaged the company’s infrastructure thereby increasing its operating expenses. This, in turn, can be expected to have hurt the company’s bottom line in the soon-to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ED’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 78 cents per share, indicating a 22% decline from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Consolidated Edison this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. This is not the case here, as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -0.26%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Consolidated Edison has a Zacks Rank #2.

Stocks to Consider

Here are three  Utility players you may want to consider as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season:

American Water Works (AWK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.66% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

American Water Works boasts a long-term earnings growth rate of 8.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American Water Work’s fourth-quarter sales and earnings is pegged at $884.1 million and 76 cents per share, respectively.

American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.33% and a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fourth-quarter earnings, pegged at $1.02 per share, implies an improvement of 4.1% from the prior-year quarter’s tally.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEP’s fourth-quarter sales is pegged at $4.25 billion. AEP has a four-quarter earnings surprise of 2.91%.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.38% and a Zacks Rank #3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 63 cents per share, indicating a decline of 8.7% from the prior-year reported figure.

Public Service Enterprise boasts a four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.53%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PEG’s fourth-quarter sales is pegged at $2.18 billion, indicating growth of 28.7% from the prior-year reported figure.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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