The upcoming report from Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB) is expected to reveal quarterly earnings of $2.55 per share, indicating an increase of 11.8% compared to the year-ago period. Analysts forecast revenues of $2.94 billion, representing an increase of 12.5% year over year.
The current level reflects an upward revision of 2.1% in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter over the past 30 days. This demonstrates how the analysts covering the stock have collectively reappraised their initial projections over this period.
Prior to a company's earnings release, it is of utmost importance to factor in any revisions made to the earnings projections. These revisions serve as a critical gauge for predicting potential investor behaviors with respect to the stock. Empirical studies consistently reveal a strong link between trends in earnings estimate revisions and the short-term price performance of a stock.
While investors usually depend on consensus earnings and revenue estimates to assess the business performance for the quarter, delving into analysts' forecasts for certain key metrics often provides a more comprehensive understanding.
Given this perspective, it's time to examine the average forecasts of specific Wabtec metrics that are routinely monitored and predicted by Wall Street analysts.
The consensus among analysts is that 'Sales to external customers- Transit Segment' will reach $776.87 million. The estimate points to a change of +9.6% from the year-ago quarter.
Based on the collective assessment of analysts, 'Sales to external customers- Freight Segment' should arrive at $2.16 billion. The estimate suggests a change of +13.6% year over year.
The combined assessment of analysts suggests that 'Income (loss) from operations- Freight Segment' will likely reach $524.86 million. Compared to the present estimate, the company reported $420.00 million in the same quarter last year.
It is projected by analysts that the 'Adjusted Income (loss) from operations- Transit Segment' will reach $118.82 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $103.00 million.
Analysts expect 'Adjusted Income (loss) from operations- Freight Segment' to come in at $558.36 million. Compared to the current estimate, the company reported $488.00 million in the same quarter of the previous year.
According to the collective judgment of analysts, 'Income (loss) from operations- Transit Segment' should come in at $114.82 million. The estimate is in contrast to the year-ago figure of $90.00 million.
View all Key Company Metrics for Wabtec here>>>Over the past month, shares of Wabtec have returned +7.7% versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.2% change. Currently, WAB carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), suggesting that its performance may align with the overall market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>> .
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).