Mohawk Industries Earnings Preview

Mohawk Industries (NYSE: MHK  ) met its estimates last quarter, but investors hope that it will beat them this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings Thursday. Mohawk Industries is a producer of floor covering products for residential and commercial applications in the United States and residential applications in Europe.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Mohawk Industries with seven of 13 analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Mohawk Industries as much as competitor Interface overall. Three out of seven analysts rate Interface a buy compared with four of 13 for Mohawk Industries. Mohawk Industries' rating hasn't changed over the past three months.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $1.45 billion in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 3.6% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.93 per share. Estimates range from $0.89 to $0.98.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 76.8% giving it an "outperform" rating. The majority of the Fools are in agreement with the All-Stars as 72.5% give it an "outperform" rating. Fools are keen on Mohawk Industries and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 105 posts in the past 30 days. Mohawk Industries' bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Mohawk Industries' profit has risen year over year by an average of 60.4%. Revenue has fallen for the past three quarters.

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	25.4%	27.1%	26.3%	26.8%
Operating Margin	4.2%	6.8%	6.5%	6.4%
Net Margin	1.7%	3.6%	3.9%	4.9%

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