Can Cisco and Wal-Mart Beat Earnings This Week?

November 10, 2013 by Jon C. Ogg

old cash registerEarnings season is in the process of winding down, but there are still some key earnings reports coming out. We are still getting key earnings and this week will bring the quarterly reports from Dow Jones Industrial Average components Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

24/7 Wall St. wanted to offer previews for these two DJIA stocks. We also wanted to know if investors think they are worth their price based upon expectations and valuation.

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reports earnings on Wednesday. At $23.51, its 52-week range is $16.69 to $26.49. We would also point out that the consensus analyst price target of $26.51 gives an implied upside of almost 13%. Cisco also has that 2.9% dividend yield to consider.

Thomson Reuters has estimates of $0.51 in earnings per share and $12.35 billion in revenue for Cisco. That would represent about 6% earnings per share growth and about 4% sales growth.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) recently closed at $77.96 against a 52-week range of $67.37 to $79.96. Its consensus analyst price target is up at $81.77. Wal-Mart is an economic indicator on its own right now because it sales are so large. The biggest challenge for Wal-Mart is that it has been lowering its expectations, or at least that is the perception after reports on its expectations.

Thomson Reuters has estimates of $1.13 in earnings per share and $116.75 billion for Wal-Mart. This represents growth expectations of about 4% in earnings and 2.5% in sales.

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