Preview: American States Water's Earnings

American States Water AWR announces its next round of earnings this Monday, February 22. Here is Benzinga's everything-that-matters guide for this Monday's Q4 earnings announcement.

What Are Earnings, Net Income, And Earnings Per Share?

Earnings and especially earnings per share (EPS) are useful measures of a company's profitability. Total earnings, which is also referred to as net income, equals total revenue minus total expenses. EPS equals to net income divided by the number of shares outstanding.

Earnings And Revenue

Based on American States Water management projections, analysts predict EPS of $0.47 on revenue of $110.50 million. In the same quarter last year, American States Water announced EPS of $0.45 on revenue of $112.99 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

Wall Street analysts who study this company will publish analyst estimates of revenue and EPS. The averages of all analyst EPS and revenue estimates are called the "consensus estimates"; these consensus estimates can have a significant effect on a company's performance during an earnings release. When a company posts earnings or revenue above or below a consensus estimate, it has posted an "earnings surprise", which can really move a stock depending on the difference between actual and estimated values.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Monday, earnings would be up 4.44%. Revenue would be down 2.21% from the year-ago period. In comparison to analyst estimates in the past, here is how the company's reported EPS stacks up:

Stock Performance

Over the past 52-week period, shares of American States Water have declined 12.47%. Given that these returns are generally negative, long-term shareholders are probably a little upset going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. American States Water is scheduled to hold the call at 14:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.