Houston Wire & Cable (Nasdaq: HWCC) is expected to report Q2 earnings around Aug. 5. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Houston Wire & Cable's revenues will increase 4.3% and EPS will expand 8.0%.

The average estimate for revenue is $102.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.27.

Revenue details
 Last quarter, Houston Wire & Cable reported revenue of $94.3 million. GAAP reported sales were 0.2% lower than the prior-year quarter's $94.5 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

EPS details
 Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.22. GAAP EPS of $0.22 for Q1 were 4.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.23 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures are normalized by S&P Capital IQ and may vary to maintain comparability with normalized estimates.

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 22.7%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.8%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.1%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $404.0 million. The average EPS estimate is $1.02.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 441 members out of 459 rating the stock outperform, and 18 members rating it underperform. Among 112 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 109 give Houston Wire & Cable a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Houston Wire & Cable is outperform, with an average price target of $14.83.

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