After beating estimates last quarter by one cent, Gannett (NYSE: GCI) has set the standard for itself. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Monday, October 17. Gannett is an international news and information company operating mainly in the realms of publishing, digital and broadcasting.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Half of analysts think investors should stand pat on Gannett. Analysts don't like Gannett as much as competitor Meredith overall. Three out of six analysts rate Meredith a buy compared to three of eight for Gannett. 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 $1.27 billion in revenue this quarter. That would represent a decline of 3.1% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of 45 cents per share. Estimates range from 43 cents to 47 cents.

What our community says:
 The majority of CAPS All Stars see GCI as a good bet, with 73.6% giving it an "outperform" rating. The majority of the Fools are in agreement with the All Stars as 72.7% give it an "outperform" rating. Fools are keen on Gannett and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 196 posts in the past 30 days. Gannett's bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
 Gannett's profit has risen year over year by an average of 5.6% over the past five quarters. Revenue has fallen for the past three 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

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Gross Margin

44.6%

42.7%

48.3%

43%

Operating Margin

18.1%

14.3%

21.2%

15.3%

Net Margin

11.4%

7.2%

11.9%

7.7%

One final thing: If you want to keep tabs on Gannett movements, and for more analysis on the company, make sure you add it to your Watchlist.

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