NSTAR (NYSE: NST) will look to avoid missing estimates for the consecutive quarter when its earnings are released. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, July 28. NSTAR is a holding company that is engaged through its subsidiaries in the energy delivery business, serving approximately 1.4 million customers in Massachusetts.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on NSTAR with five of eight analysts rating it hold. Analysts don't like NSTAR as much as competitor Northeast Utilities System overall. Four out of 13 analysts rate Northeast Utilities System a buy compared to two of eight for NSTAR. While analysts still rate the stock a Hold, they are a little more optimistic about it compared to three months ago.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $668.8 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 2% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.59 per share. Estimates range from $0.54 to $0.63.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 100% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The community at large concurs with the All-Stars with 95.6% giving it a rating of "outperform." Fools have embraced NSTAR, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 38 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of NSTAR, the stock has a middling CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
NSTAR's profit has risen year over year by an average of 44.4%. Revenue has now gone up for three straight 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 gross and net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2
Gross Margin 35.7% 36.8% 41.3% 37.5%
Net Margin 7.2% 6.8% 9.5% 26.2%

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