Methode Electronics Earnings Preview

Investors never know what to expect for Methode Electronics (NYSE: MEI), as it has wavered between topping and missing analysts estimates during the past fiscal year. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, June 30. Methode Electronics designs, manufactures, and markets devices employing electrical, radio remote control, electronic, wireless, sensing and optical technologies.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: The lone analyst covering Methode Electronics is bullish on this stock, backing it as a buy. That rating hasn't budged in three months as the analyst has remained steady with a buy rating.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $104 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 8.7% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The lone analyst is estimating earnings of 11 cents per share.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are solidly backing the stock with 98.5% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All Stars with 93.3% granting it a rating of "outperform." Fools are bullish on Methode Electronics, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 62 posts in the past 30 days. Methode Electronics has a bullish CAPS rating of five out of five stars -- the highest rating.

Management:
Methode Electronics' income has fallen year over year, although revenue has now gone up for three straight quarters. The company boosted its gross margin by 2.1 percentage points in the last quarter. Revenue rose 13.1% while cost of sales rose 10.3% to $82.7 million from a year earlier.

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 and net margins over the past four quarters.

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