Home Properties (NYSE: HME) will try to beat its earnings estimates for the fifth consecutive quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, August 4. Home Properties is engaged mainly in the ownership, management, acquisition, rehabilitation, and development of residential apartment communities mainly in select regions of the eastern United States.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts are bullish on Home Properties, as eight analysts rate it as a buy and only two analysts rate it as a sell. Analysts don't like Home Properties as much as competitor Mid-America Apartment overall. Analysts haven't adjusted their rating of Home Properties for the past three months.
  • Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $140.3 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 11.4% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.85 per share. Estimates range from $0.84 to $0.87.

What our community says:
The majority of CAPS All Stars see HME as a good bet, with 57.1% awarding it an "outperform" rating. The community is divided on the stock, with 48.6% Fools granting it an "outperform" rating and 51.4% an "underperform" rating. Fools are bullish on Home Properties, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 48 posts in the past 30 days. Home Properties' bearish CAPS rating of one out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Home Properties' profit has risen year over year by an average of 29.9%. 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 net margins over the past four quarters:

Quarter

Q1

Q4

Q3

Q2

Net Margin

5.1%

5.1%

4.2%

4.1%

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