Northern Earnings Preview

Investors never know what to expect for Northern (Nasdaq: NTRS  ) , as it has wavered between topping and missing analysts estimates during the past fiscal year. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday. Northern Trust is a financial holding company that provides investment management, asset and fund administration, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, and affluent individuals.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Northern with 13 of 17 analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like Northern as much as competitor New York Community Bancorp overall. Seven out of 17 analysts rate New York Community Bancorp a buy compared to four of 17 for Northern. Analysts still rate the stock a hold, but they are a bit more wary about it compared to three months ago.
• Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $961.8 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 7% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.70 per share. Estimates range from $0.66 to $0.74.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 81.9% assigning it an outperform rating. The community at large concurs with the All-Stars with 88.2% granting it a rating of outperform. Fools are keen on Northern and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 102 posts in the past 30 days. Northern's bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Northern's income has fallen year over year by an average of 16.6% over the past five quarters. The company's revenue has now risen for two 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 net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter	Q2	Q1	Q4	Q3
Net Margin	14.4%	14.9%	15.6%	15.8%

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