What Awaits Public Service Enterprise (PEG) In Q4 Earnings?

Public Service Enterprise (NYSE:PEG) is scheduled to release fourth-quarter and 2019 results on Feb 26, before the opening bell. In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 3.16%.

Moreover, the company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the same once, the average positive surprise being 1.91%.

Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to get reflected in the upcoming quarterly results.

Factors to Consider

At the onset of the quarter, most of Public Service Enterprise’s service territory areas experienced warmer-than-normal temperature, while in December heavy rainfall was witnessed along with snow. This is likely to have increased household expenditure for electricity, which in turn may have boosted company’s fourth-quarter revenues.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $2.85 billion, which indicates a rise of 15.6% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Public Service Enterprise’s quarterly bottom line is expected to have benefited from rate relief and a mid-year re-measurement of the pension plan. Along with that, effective cost control and lower corporate tax rate at PSEG power are expected to have bolstered the company’s earnings.

Moreover, positive synergies from the completed sale of Public Service Enterprise’s 776-megawatt interest in the Keystone and Conemaugh generating units in the third quarter are expected to have boosted fourth-quarter earnings.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 62 cents per share, which suggests 10.7% improvement from the year-ago quarter reported figure.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Public Service Enterprise this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat.

Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is +1.21%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Public Service Enterprise carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Other Stocks to Consider

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

Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) is due to release fourth-quarter results on Feb 25. It has an Earnings ESP of +7.52% and a Zacks Rank of #3.

CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:CNP) is set to release fourth-quarter results on Feb 27. It has an Earnings ESP of +6.56% and has a Zacks Rank #3.

Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) is expected to release fourth-quarter results soon. It has an Earnings ESP of +41.50% and a Zacks Rank of #3.

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