Huntington Bancshares Earnings Preview

On Thursday, April 22, Huntington Bancshares HBAN will report its last quarter's earnings. Here is Benzinga's preview of the company's release.

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

Analysts expect Huntington Bancshares earnings of $0.35 per share. Revenue will likely be around $1.22 billion, according to the consensus estimate. Huntington Bancshares earnings in the same period a year ago was $0.03 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $1.15 billion.

What Are Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises, And Why Do They Matter?

Analysts who cover this company will publish forward-looking estimates of its revenue and EPS each quarter. Averaging together every EPS and revenue prediction that each analyst makes about a company in a quarter yields the "consensus estimates." A company posting earnings or revenue above or below the consensus estimate is known as an "earnings surprise" and may move the stock by a considerable margin.

If the company were to report earnings in line when it publishes results Thursday, earnings would be up 1066.67%. Sales would be up 5.99% from the year-ago period. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Stock Performance

Shares of Huntington Bancshares were trading at $15.17 as of April 20. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 92.93%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders are probably content going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Huntington Bancshares is scheduled to hold the call at 08:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.