Agilent (A) Gears Up For Q3 Earnings: What's In The Cards?

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) is set to report fiscal third-quarter 2019 results on Aug 14. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 1.39%.

Agilent’s surprise history has been decent. It beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, with average positive earnings surprise of 5.01%.

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

Strength in ACG Segment to Drive Revenues

The company generated strong revenues from this segment in the last reported quarter.

The revenue figure is expected to further increase in the to-be-reported quarter, driven by strength in services and consumables across all geographical regions served. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this segment is currently pegged at 451 million.

Agilent Technologies, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Strength in DGG & LSAG

The company expects strong revenues from Diagnostics and Genomics Group (DGG) in the to-be-reported quarter, driven by growth in pharma, along with strength in genomics and NASD products.

Also, the Life Sciences & Applied Markets Group (LSAG) segment is likely to report solid numbers in the quarter to be reported, driven by strong performances of chemical and energy, as well as pharma and environmental markets.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DGG & LSAG is currently pegged at 249 million and 539 million, respectively.

Other Growth Drivers

Agilent’s broad-based portfolio and increased focus on segments offer higher growth potential. The company’s decision to divest/wind up underperforming businesses has enhanced its focus on the new Agilent, while enabling expansion of a solid recurring revenue base, and diversification of geographic and industrial growth operations. These factors are likely to aid its upcoming results.

Also, the company’s focus on aligning investments toward more attractive growth avenues and innovative product launches is a positive for the fiscal third quarter.

What Our Model Suggests

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP.

Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) stocks are best avoided, especially if these have a negative Earnings ESP. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Agilent currently has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%, a combination that does not indicate a likely positive surprise in the to-be-reported quarter.

Stocks to Consider

We see a likely earnings beat for each of the following companies in the upcoming releases:

CACI International, Inc. (NYSE:CACI) has an Earnings ESP of +4.02% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) has an Earnings ESP of +0.41% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Ciena (NYSE:CIEN) has an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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