Benzinga | Feb 1, 2021 10:12AM EST

A Preview Of M.D.C. Holdings's Earnings

On Tuesday, February 02, M.D.C. Holdings (NYSE:MDC) will release its latest earnings report. Here is Benzinga's outlook for the company.

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

Sell-side analysts expect M.D.C. Holdings's EPS to be near $1.73 on sales of $1.22 billion. In the same quarter last year, M.D.C. Holdings reported earnings per share of $1.42 on sales of $1.10 billion.

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 Wall Street consensus estimate for earnings would represent a 21.83% increase for the company. Revenue would be have grown 10.51% from the same quarter last year. Here is how the company's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate 1.22 0.83 0.71 1.27EPS Actual 1.49 1.31 0.56 1.42Revenue Estimate 965.51 M 808.09 M 730.01 M 1.10 BRevenue Actual 1.04 B 919.72 M 718.97 M 1.10 B

Stock Performance

Shares of M.D.C. Holdings were trading at $52.1 as of January 29. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 22.79%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders should be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. M.D.C. Holdings is scheduled to hold the call at 12:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.