Lindsay Earnings Preview

Investors hope Lindsay (NYSE: LNN  ) will top analyst estimates once again after beating predictions by $0.24 in the previous quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, October 13. Lindsay is a designer and manufacturer of self-propelled center pivot and lateral move irrigation systems, which are used in the agricultural industry to increase or stabilize crop production while conserving water, energy, and labor.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Lindsay with five of six analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Lindsay as much as competitor AGCO overall. Four out of 10 analysts rate AGCO a buy, compared to one of six for Lindsay. 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 $108.5 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 24.4% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.64 per share. Estimates range from $0.57 to $0.84.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 89.7% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large agrees with the All-Stars with 91.5% awarding it a rating of "outperform." Fools have embraced Lindsay and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 127 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, Lindsay's CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:
Lindsay's profit has risen year over year by an average of 96.1% over the past five quarters. Revenue has now gone up for three straight 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. 

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