Benzinga | Mar 10, 2021 10:06AM EST

Earnings Outlook for Willdan Group

Willdan Group (NASDAQ:WLDN) unveils its next round of earnings this Thursday, March 11. Get prepared with Benzinga's ultimate preview for Willdan Group's Q4 earnings.

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

Willdan Group EPS will likely be near $0.5 while revenue will be around $57.82 million, according to analysts. In the same quarter last year, Willdan Group reported EPS of $0.97 on revenue of $61.02 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.

The analyst consensus estimate would represent a 48.45% decrease in the company's earnings. Sales would be down 5.25% on a year-over-year basis. Willdan Group's reported EPS has stacked up against analyst estimates in the past like this:

Quarter Q3 2020 Q2 2020 Q1 2020 Q4 2020EPS Estimate 0.22 -0.11 0.30 0.83EPS Actual 0.68 0.17 -0.13 0.97Revenue Estimate 47.74 M 39.13 M 38.16 M 58.19 MRevenue Actual 50.99 M 43.19 M 49.61 M 61.02 M

Stock Performance

Shares of Willdan Group were trading at $44.84 as of March 09. Over the last 52-week period, shares are up 98.08%. Given that these returns are generally positive, long-term shareholders can be satisfied going into this earnings release.

Do not be surprised to see the stock move on comments made during its conference call. Willdan Group is scheduled to hold the call at 17:30:00 ET and can be accessed here.