What's In The Cards For CONSOL Energy (CNX) In Q1 Earnings?

CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX) is expected to report first-quarter 2017 results before the market opens on May 2. Last quarter, the coal and natural gas company reported a positive earnings surprise of 100.0%. Let’s find out what’s in store in this quarter.

Factors to Consider

Amid the volatile commodity prices, CONSOL Energy continues to follow zero-base budgeting approach to control its expenditure.

Thanks to its drilling efficiency, reduction in transportation, gathering and compression costs CONSOL Energy expects its E&P margins to improve in 2017 from 2016 levels.

CONSOL Energy has dissolved its joint venture with Noble Energy (NYSE:NBL) in the Marcellus Shale properties. This dissolution increased CONSOL’s acreage in the core region of Marcellus and boosted its natural gas production.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that CONSOL Energy is likely to beat estimates this quarter as it does not have the right combination of the two key ingredients. Note that a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) to be able to beat estimates. However, that is not the case here, as elaborated below.

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

CONSOL Energy Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

CONSOL Energy Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | CONSOL Energy Inc. Quote

Zacks ESP: CONSOL Energy has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% since both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 11 cents.

Zacks Rank: Although CONSOL Energy’s Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of ESP, its 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.

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

Stocks to Consider

While CONSOL Energy failed to secure the required mix, here are a couple companies from the Zacks categorized Coal industry that are likely to post a beat this earnings season.

Alliance Resource Partners L.P. (NASDAQ:ARLP) is expected to release first-quarter 2017 results on May 1. The company has an Earnings ESP of +9.21% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE:ARCH) is expected to release first-quarter 2017 results on May 2. The company has an Earnings ESP of +4.37% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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