Heartland Financial's Earnings: A Preview

Heartland Financial HTLF announces its next round of earnings this Monday, July 26. Here is Benzinga's look at Heartland Financial's Q2 earnings report.

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

Earnings and EPS are useful metrics of profitability. Total earnings also known as net income is equal to total revenue minus total expenses. Dividing net income by the total number of shares outstanding yields EPS.

Earnings And Revenue

Wall Street analysts see Heartland Financial reporting earnings of $1.26 per share on sales of $174.70 million. In the same quarter last year, Heartland Financial reported earnings per share of $0.82 on sales of $154.78 million.

Why Analyst Estimates And Earnings Surprises Are Important

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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 53.66% increase in the company's EPS figure. Sales would be up 12.87% on a year-over-year basis. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Want Real-Time Earnings Calendar Updates?

Benzinga consistently updates its earnings calendars to stay up-to-date with the latest company earnings reports. Check out the full earnings calendar list updated in real-time by following this link.

Stock Performance

Shares of Heartland Financial were trading at $43.71 as of July 22. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 44.52%. 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. Heartland Financial is scheduled to hold the call at 17:00:00 ET and can be accessed here.