Entergy Gears Up to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

Entergy Corporation ETR is scheduled to release fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 18, before market open.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.This utility company delivered an earnings surprise of 2.75% in the last reported quarter. However, Entergy has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 4.81%, on average.Let’s discuss the factors that are likely to affect the upcoming quarterly results.Factors to Consider Ahead of ETR’s ResultsEntergy’s service territories witnessed above-normal weather patterns for the majority of the fourth quarter. This is likely to have hurt electricity demand from its customers for heating purposes this winter, thereby adversely affecting the company’s top-line performance.Nevertheless, higher industrial sales, primarily driven by a large new customer in Louisiana, strong customer growth and favorable rate outcomes witnessed in prior quarters, are likely to have bolstered ETR’s overall revenues.Some parts of its service areas witnessed hail and tornadoes during the fourth quarter, which are likely to have caused outages for some of ETR’s customers and also brought damage to its infrastructure. This is likely to have pushed up the company’s operating expenses for repair and restoration of its damaged infrastructure, which, in turn, is expected to have hurt its bottom-line performance to some extent.However, solid revenue expectations, benefits of increasing customer interest in ETR’s renewable projects and favorable returns from its prior capital investment in infrastructural upgrades are likely to have boosted its overall quarterly earnings.Entergy Corporation Price and EPS Surprise Entergy Corporation price-eps-surprise | Entergy Corporation QuoteQ4 Expectations for EntergyThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for ETR’s sales is pegged at $3.03 billion, which indicates year-over-year growth of 11%.The consensus estimate for earnings per share is pegged at 63 cents, which indicates year-over-year increase of 142.3%.What Our Model Predicts for EntergyOur proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Entergy this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here as seen below.Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is -0.78%. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.Zacks Rank: The company currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.Stocks to ConsiderInvestors can consider the following players from the same industry, which have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their quarterly results.OGE Energy OGE is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 19, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +2.41% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $672.5 million, which indicates an 18.7% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at 48 cents per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 100%.CenterPoint Energy CNP is scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 20, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.63% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales is pegged at $2.28 billion, which indicates a 4.6% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at 40 cents per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 25%.Vistra Corporation VST is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 27, before market open. It has an Earnings ESP of +3.81% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its sales is pegged at $4.38 billion, which indicates a 42.3% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure. The consensus estimate for earnings is pinned at $1.14 per share, which indicates a significant improvement from the previous year quarter’s figure.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Entergy Corporation (ETR): Free Stock Analysis Report OGE Energy Corporation (OGE): Free Stock Analysis Report CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP): Free Stock Analysis Report Vistra Corp. (VST): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks