PPL Corporation To Post Q4 Earnings: What's In Store?

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is set to report fourth-quarter 2018 results on Feb 14, before market opens. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered positive earnings surprise of 5.36%.

Let’s see how things are holding up prior to the announcement.

Factors to Consider

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $1.95 billion, reflecting an increase of 1.25% year over year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 49 cents, reflecting a fall of 10.91% year over year.

The company continues to invest in smart grid technology, power line upgrades, vegetation management and data analytics which will drive quarterly results. Nearly 80% of the company’s capital investment provided returns within a year and boosted earnings growth. Constant investments, better service quality and steady currency hedging are expected to boost fourth-quarter 2018 results.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not show that PPL Corporation is likely to beat estimates in the upcoming quarterly results. That is because a stock needs to have 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.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is -1.03%.

Zacks Rank: The company has a Zacks Rank #3, which when combined negative ESP makes earnings beat uncertain. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 and 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks to Consider

Investors may consider the following companies from the same industry that have the right combination of elements to beat estimates in the quarter to be reported:

Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) has an Earnings ESP of +1.68% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2018 earnings on Feb 14.

ALLETE Inc (NYSE:ALE) has an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and carries a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to report fourth-quarter 2018 results on Feb 14.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:GE) Company (NYSE:POR) has an Earnings ESP of +4.19% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter 2018 results on Feb 15.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>