Neogen Earnings Preview

Neogen (Nasdaq: NEOG  ) beat estimates by $0.01 last quarter and investors are hoping it can beat them again. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Tuesday. Neogen and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture, and market a diverse line of products dedicated to food and animal safety.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Neogen with four of six analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Neogen as much as competitor Meridian Bioscience overall. Five out of 12 analysts rate Meridian Bioscience a buy compared to two of six for Neogen. While analysts still rate the stock a hold, they are a little more optimistic about it compared to three months ago.
• Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $47.3 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 10.2% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.26 per share. Estimates range from $0.25 to $0.28.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 100% granting it an outperform rating. The community at large concurs with the All-Stars with 96.9% assigning it a rating of outperform. Fools are keen on Neogen, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 85 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, Neogen's CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:
Neogen's profit has risen year over year by an average of 30.3% over the past five 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.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized service. Add Neogen now.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.