Graco (NYSE: GGG) will try to beat its earnings estimates for the third consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings Wednesday. Graco provides fluid handling solutions to customers in the manufacturing, processing, construction and maintenance industries throughout the world. It operates in three segments: industrial, contractor and lubrication.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Graco with five of six analysts rating it a hold. Analysts don't like Graco as much as competitor IDEX overall. Nine out of 13 analysts rate IDEX a buy compared with one of six for Graco. While analysts still rate the stock a hold, they are a little more optimistic about it compared with three months ago.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $241.7 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 25.8% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.67 per share. Estimates range from $0.63 to $0.71.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly behind the stock, with 98.4% giving it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars, with 96.9% awarding it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Graco and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 109 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, Graco's CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:
Graco's profit has risen year over year by an average of 81.7%. The company increased its gross margin by 2.9 percentage points in the last quarter. Revenue rose 32.2% while cost of sales rose 23.7% to $93.3 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

Q1

Q4

Q3

Q2

Gross Margin

57.1%

54.6%

55%

53.1%

Operating Margin

26.2%

19.2%

22.9%

20.4%

Net Margin

17.1%

13.7%

16%

12.9%

For all our Graco-specific analysis, including earnings and beyond, add Graco to My Watchlist.

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