After beating estimates last quarter by $0.19, Andersons (Nasdaq: ANDE) has set the standard for itself. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, Aug. 3. Andersons is an entrepreneurial, customer-focused company with diversified interests in the agriculture and transportation markets.
What analysts say:
- Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Andersons, with four of seven rating it a hold. Analysts like Andersons better than competitor Cresud overall. Zero out of two analysts rate Cresud a buy, compared with three of seven for Andersons.
- Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $1.15 billion in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 41.8% from the year-ago quarter.
- Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $1.75 per share. Estimates range from $1.47 to $2.34.
What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock, with 78.8% granting it an "outperform" rating. The community at large backs the All-Stars, with 81.7% giving it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Andersons and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 102 posts in the past 30 days. Andersons' bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community's sentiment.
Management:
Andersons' profit has risen year over year by an average of 42.4%. 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, operating, and net margins over the past four quarters.
| Quarter | Q1 | Q4 | Q3 | Q2 |
| Gross Margin | 7.9% | 7.1% | 7.5% | 10.8% |
| Operating Margin | 2.5% | 1.2% | 0.4% | 4.5% |
| Net Margin | 1.7% | 2.2% | 0.2% | 3.1% |
