Susquehanna Bancshares Earnings Preview

After beating estimates last quarter by one cent, Susquehanna Bancshares (Nasdaq: SUSQ  ) has set the standard for itself. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Susquehanna Bancshares is a financial holding company that provides a range of retail and commercial banking and financial services through its subsidiaries in the mid-Atlantic region.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Susquehanna Bancshares, with 10 of 12 rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts like Susquehanna Bancshares better than competitor National Penn Bancshares overall. Analysts still rate the stock a moderate buy, but they are a bit more wary about it compared to three months ago.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $153 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 4.5% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.12 per share. Estimates range from $0.10 to $0.14.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock with 84.6% granting it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars with 87.3% awarding it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Susquehanna Bancshares, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 43 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of Susquehanna Bancshares, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
Susquehanna Bancshares' profit has risen year over year by an average of 89% over the past five quarters. 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 net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter	Q3	Q2	Q1	Q4
Net Margin	8.1%	6.0%	5.2%	6.7%

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