Noble Energy (NBL) To Report Q4 Earnings: What's In Store?

Noble Energy (NASDAQ:NBL) is slated to report fourth-quarter 2019 results on Feb 12. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 9.1%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up this earnings season.

Factors to Consider

Noble Energy expects total sales volume in the to-be-reported quarter in the range of 364-376 thousand barrels of oil equivalents per day (MBoe/d), out of which U.S. onshore sales volumes are estimated within 276-288 MBoe/d.

Increase in efficiency of operations and proper cost management are expected to have aided the company to lower expenses. Fourth-quarter earnings are expected to have gained from the same.

However, unplanned downtime in one of its large production facilities is likely to have had an adverse impact on total production volumes in the fourth quarter. Oil production is expected to decline 1,000 barrels per day from a year ago. Volatile commodity prices might negatively impact results in the fourth quarter.

Q4 Expectations

U.S. operations have been the major contributor to the company’s overall sales volume. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for crude oil and natural gas liquids sales volume per day in the United States is pegged at 124,000 and 72,000 barrels per day, indicating growth of 5.1% and 20%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. U.S. natural gas sales volumes are expected to be 528 thousand cubic feet per day, suggesting 17.1% growth from the year-ago quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings per share is currently a loss of 9 cents. In the year-ago quarter, the bottom line came in at earnings of 12 cents per share.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Noble Energy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -8.41%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Noble Energy carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies that you may consider from the same industry, as these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the to-be-reported quarter.

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2019 earnings on Feb 26. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.51% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

WPX Energy (NYSE:WPX) is set to release fourth-quarter 2019 earnings on Feb 26. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.23% and carries a Zacks Rank #2.

Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) is set to release fourth-quarter 2019 earnings on Feb 27. It has an Earnings ESP of +40.89% and carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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