Seacor Holdings Earnings Preview

Investors never know what to expect for Seacor Holdings (NYSE: CKH  ) , as it has wavered between topping and missing analysts' estimates during the past fiscal year. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Monday, July 18. Seacor Holdingsis in the business of owning, operating, investing in, and marketing equipment, mainly in the offshore oil and gas and marine transportation industries.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts don't like Seacor Holdings as much as competitor Bristow Group overall. Four out of eight analysts rate Bristow Group a buy, compared with zero of one for Seacor Holdings. That rating hasn't budged in three months, as analysts have remained steadfast in their opinion of the stock.
• Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $469.6 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a decline of 32.7% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.70 per share.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 97.1% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large agrees with the All-Stars, with 95% assigning it a rating of "outperform." Fools are keen on Seacor Holdings, though the message boards have been quiet lately, with only 23 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Seacor Holdings, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
Seacor Holdings' profit has risen year over year by an average of more than twofold.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows gross, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter	Q1	Q4	Q3	Q2
Gross Margin	21.4%	22.5%	30.3%	30.2%
Operating Margin	3.1%	6.3%	20.9%	17.6%
Net Margin	2.4%	4.7%	15.3%	9.2%

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