Investing

Earnings Previews: Ally Financial, Huntington Bancshares, Schlumberger

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Tuesday was not a dough day for equity investors. Wednesday got off to a slightly better start with the three major stock indexes all trading higher in the premarket session. The two big banks that reported results in the morning (Bank of America and Morgan Stanley) both beat profit estimates and missed on revenues. Dow Jones industrial average components Procter & Gamble and UnitedHealth Group beat on both.

After markets close Wednesday, results from Alcoa, Discover Financial, Kinder Morgan and United Airlines are due. We also previewed three firms set to report quarterly results before markets open on Thursday (American Airlines, Baker Hughes and Union Pacific) and three more on deck after markets close Thursday (CSX, Netflix and PPG Industries).

Here is a look at three companies that are scheduled to report results before markets open on Friday.

Ally Financial

After getting off to a good start Wednesday morning, equities lost their upward momentum and all three major stock indexes were lower by late morning. Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) was no exception. In fact, financial stocks traded down the most of any sector. Ally, which recently announced a 20% increase in its dividend, again was no exception. The stock has increased in value by around 23% over the past 12 months.

Of the 20 analysts covering Ally, 18 have given the stock a Buy or Strong Buy rating, and the other two rate the shares at Hold. At a recent price of around $49.20 a share, the upside potential to a median price target of $65 is 32%. At the high price target of $81, the upside potential is 64.6%.

Analysts expect Ally to post fourth-quarter revenue of $2.06 billion, which would be up 3.9% sequentially and 4.0% higher year over year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) are forecast at $1.97, down 8.9% sequentially but up 23.1% year over year. For the full year, Ally is expected to report revenue of $8.09 billion, up nearly 21%, and EPS of $8.52, up 181%.

The stock trades at around 5.8 times expected 2021 EPS, 6.7 times estimated 2022 EPS of $7.33 and 6.3 times estimated 2023 earnings of $7.85. The stock’s 52-week range is $36.34 to $56.61, and Ally pays an annual dividend of $1.20 (yield of 2.44%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 21.3%.

Huntington Bancshares

Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) stock added 22% to its value over the past year. Huntington completed its merger with TCF Financial in June of last year and is now the largest regional bank (by number of offices) in the Midwest. The bank has “robust core deposit funding and good capitalization, along with a conservative risk profile” that together provide solid profitability, according to a new review by Moody’s.

Of the 19 analysts covering the bank, nine have a Buy or Strong Buy rating, and the nine more rate the shares at Hold. At a share price of around $17.25, the upside potential to a median price target of $18 is 4.3%. At the high price target of $21, the upside potential is 21.7%.

Analysts expect Huntington to post fourth-quarter revenue of $1.69 billion, basically flat sequentially and up 37.4% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.35, up 60% sequentially and 29.6% higher year over year. For full 2021, Ally is expected to report revenue of $6.04 billion, up 25.4%, and EPS of $1.33, up 92%.

The stock trades at around 13.0 times expected 2021 EPS, 12.4 times estimated 2022 EPS of $1.40 and 11.3 times estimated 2023 earnings of $1.52. The stock’s 52-week range is $13.01 to $17.79. Ally pays an annual dividend of $0.62 (yield of 3.52%). Total shareholder return for the past year was nearly 21%.

Schlumberger

The largest U.S.-based oilfield services company, Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) has seen its stock price rise by about 50% over the past 12 months, sharply better than its two big competitors, Baker Hughes and Halliburton. U.S. drilling is not about to return to the salad days of 2015 and 2016, but there is finally some inclination to ramp up new drilling as prices push up to around $85 a barrel.

Analysts remain bullish on the company. Of 32 brokerages covering the stock, 27 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating on the shares. The other five rate the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $37.05, the implied upside based on a median price target of $40 is 8.0%. At the high target of $49, the upside potential is 32.2%.

Fourth-quarter revenue is forecast at $6.09 billion, up 4.1% sequentially and more than 10% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.39, up 8.4% sequentially and more than 77% year over year. For the full year, analysts are expecting Schlumberger to post EPS of $1.27, up almost 87%, on sales of $22.79 billion, down 3.4%.

Schlumberger shares trade at 29.3 times expected 2021 EPS, 19.5 times estimated 2022 earnings of $1.90 and 15.8 times estimated 2023 earnings of $2.52 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $21.23 to $38.53. The high was posted Tuesday. Schlumberger pays an annual dividend of $0.52 (yield of 1.33%). Over the past 12 months, total shareholder return was 48.4%.

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