Johnson Outdoors (JOUT) Q4 Earnings: Fishing Segment Hold Key

Johnson Outdoors Inc. (NASDAQ:JOUT) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 results on Dec 7, before the opening bell. In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 26.1%.

Q4 Expectations

The question lingering in investors’ minds now is whether Johnson Outdoors will be able to deliver a positive earnings surprise in the quarter to be reported. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter bottom line is pegged at a loss of 5 cents against earnings of 6 cents in the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the same for revenues stands at $94.9 million, up 3.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Let’s delve deeper to find out how the company’s top and bottom line will shape up this earnings season.

Factors at Play

Johnson Outdoors’ top line in fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 is likely to be driven by revenue growth at the fishing segment. Over the past few quarters, this division has been reporting impressive results. In third-quarter fiscal 2018, it witnessed 17.3% improvement in revenues on a year-over-year basis. Further, solid demand for new products in the past provided an impetus to the Minn Kota, Humminbird and Cannon brands across all key channels.

However, higher operating expenses remain a concern for the company. In the third quarter, the metric was up 3.2% to $47.4 million due to increased sales related costs. Higher compensation expenses, R&D costs, and digital marketing-related costs are also driving Johnson Outdoors’ operating expenses.

Johnson Outdoors Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

What Does the Zacks Model Unveil?

Our proven model does not show that Johnson Outdoors is likely to beat earnings estimates in fourth-quarter fiscal 2018. 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. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Johnson Outdoors has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Stock With Favorable Combinations

Here are a few other stocks from the same space that investors may consider as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the fourth quarter:

MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MCFT) has an Earnings ESP of +0.51% and a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:SEAS) has an Earnings ESP of +2.86% and a Zacks Rank #3.

The Madison Square (NYSE:SQ) Garden Company (NYSE:MSG) has an Earnings ESP of +4.69% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%.

And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>