Maidenform Brands (NYSE: MFB) will try to beat its earnings estimates for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Maidenform Brands is a global intimate apparel company.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Maidenform Brands while the remaining half rate the stock as a buy. Analysts like Maidenform Brands better than competitor Warnaco Group overall. Four out of 11 analysts rate Warnaco Group a buy compared to two of four for Maidenform Brands. Analysts' rating of Maidenform Brands has stayed constant from three months prior.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $161.9 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 11.1% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.57 per share. Estimates range from $0.55 to $0.64.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock with 95.2% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars with 93.1% granting it a rating of "outperform." Fools are keen on Maidenform Brands, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 57 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Maidenform Brands, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
Maidenform Brands' income has fallen year over year by an average of 7.1% 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.

Quarter

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Gross Margin

34.8%

34.1%

35.0%

36.2%

Operating Margin

10.6%

14.4%

9.8%

14.5%

Net Margin

6.8%

8.9%

5.7%

8.8%

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