What's In Store For Apollo Investment (AINV) In Q3 Earnings?

Apollo Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:AINV) is slated to report third-quarter fiscal 2020 (ended Dec 31) results on Feb 4, after market close. Quarterly earnings and revenues are expected to have improved on a year-over-year basis.

In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings have surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Results benefited from a rise in total investment income along with lower total expenses.

The company boasts an impressive earnings surprise history. Apollo Investment has trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 8.6%, on average. Its earnings beat the consensus mark in three of the last four quarters.

However, the company’s activities in the December-end quarter did not encourage analysts to revise earnings estimates upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal third-quarter earnings is pegged at 46 cents, unchanged in the past seven days. The figure indicates a rise of 2.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $71.6 million, which indicates growth of 11.8% from the year-ago quarter’s figure.

Key Estimates for Q3

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for interest income is pegged at $68 million, which calls for a rise of 6.3% from the last reported quarter’s level.

However, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for dividend income is at $2.36 million that suggests a decline of 14.8% sequentially. The consensus mark for other income is pegged at $1.59 million, which indicates a decline of 27.4% sequentially.

On the basis of the above estimates, total investment income is not expected to have witnessed significant improvement in the to-be-reported quarter.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Apollo Investment this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or higher increases the odds of an earnings beat.

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

Earnings ESP: The Earnings ESP for Apollo Investment is 0.00%.

Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some finance stocks that you may want to consider, as according to our model, these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.

Cincinnati Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CINF) is slated to release results on Feb 5. It currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.95% and a Zacks Rank #3.

CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) is slated to release results on Feb 10. It has an Earnings ESP of +4.56% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) is slated to release results on Feb 14. It presently has an Earnings ESP of +1.26% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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