Computer Programs & Systems Earnings Preview

Watch Computer Programs & Systems' (Nasdaq: CPSI  ) earnings report to see if it can beat analyst expectations for the fourth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, July 28. Computer Programs and Systems, Inc. is a healthcare information technology company that designs, develops, markets, installs, and supports computerized information technology systems to meet the unique demands of small and midsize hospitals.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Computer Programs & Systems, with eight of 14 rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts like Computer Programs & Systems better than competitor CACI International overall. Wall Street has warmed to the stock over the past three months, with analysts increasing their endorsement from hold to moderate buy.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $43.8 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 16.1% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.55 per share. Estimates range from $0.53 to $0.57.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 97.4% assigning it an "outperform" rating. The community at large concurs with the All Stars, with 92.8% giving it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Computer Programs & Systems, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 46 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Computer Programs & Systems, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
Computer Programs & Systems' profit has risen year over year by an average of 52.8%. The company increased its gross margin by four percentage points in the last quarter. Revenue rose 28% while cost of sales rose 19.6% to $23.2 million from a year earlier.

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	42.4%	45.3%	41.7%	41.6%
Operating Margin	21.0%	23.7%	18.8%	18.1%
Net Margin	13.3%	15.5%	11.9%	11.3%

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