Watch Texas Industries' (NYSE: TXI) earnings report to see whether it can beat analyst expectations for the fourth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday. The company is a supplier of heavy construction materials in the United States through its three business segments: cement, aggregates, and consumer products.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold? Analysts think investors should stand pat on Texas Industries with nine of 10 analysts rating it hold. Texas Industries' rating hasn't changed over the past three months.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $174.8 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a decline of 0.9% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is a loss of 26 cents per share. Estimates range from a loss of 38 cents to a loss of 18 cents.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are solidly behind the stock with 91.8% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All Stars with 81.9% awarding it a rating of "outperform." Fools are keen on Texas Industries, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 54 posts in the past 30 days. Texas Industries' bearish CAPS rating of one out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Texas Industries' income has fallen year over year by an average of more than fourfold. The company's revenue has now risen for two straight quarters. The company raised its gross margin by 3.8 percentage points in the last quarter. Revenue rose 6.8% while cost of sales rose 3.1% to $135.2 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, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter

Q3

Q2

Q1

Q4

Gross Margin

-7.4%

8.1%

9.4%

12.1%

Operating Margin

-21.2%

-4.4%

-0%

-2.5%

Net Margin

-16.6%

-7.6%

-13.8%

-5.5%

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized service. Add Texas Industries now.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.