Ferrellgas Partners (FGP) Q4 Earnings: What Lies Ahead?

Ferrellgas Partners, LP (NYSE:FGP) will release fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 financial results, before the market opens on Sep 28.

Last quarter, the partnership witnessed a negative earnings surprise of 30%. In the trailing four quarters, it saw an average negative surprise of 129.18%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors to Consider

Ferrellgas Partners is continuing with its inorganic growth strategy. During the third quarter of fiscal 2017, the partnership acquired Valley Center Propane, based in Valley Center, CA. This acquisition will have a positive impact on fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.

Due to the seasonal nature of demand for propane, sales volumes of its propane operations and related equipment sales segment typically are lower in the fiscal fourth quarter.

However, like the previous quarters, changes in the customer mix and overall increase in the wholesale prices of propane could impact profitability of the partnership.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Ferrellgas Partners 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. However, that is not the case here as you will see below.

Zacks ESP: Ferrellgas Partners has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate both stand at a loss of 45 cents.

You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Ferrellgas Partners carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Ferrellgas Partners’ Zacks Rank #3, when combined with a 0.00% ESP, makes surprise prediction uncertain.

Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement.

Upcoming Releases

Here are few stocks in the same space which have the right combination to report an earnings surprise in their next earnings release.

Philips 66 Partners LP (NYSE:PSXP) has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +3.50%.

Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +32.16%.

Golar LNG Partners, LP (NASDAQ:GMLP) has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of +16.95%.

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