Winnebago Industries Earnings Preview

After beating estimates last quarter by 8 cents, Winnebago Industries (NYSE: WGO) has set the standard for itself. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, December 15. Winnebago Industries is a manufacturer of motor homes, which are self-contained recreation vehicles used mainly in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities.

What analysts say:

• Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Winnebago Industries with three of four analysts rating it hold. Analysts still rate the stock a Hold, but they are a bit more wary about it compared to three months ago.
• Revenue Forecasts: On average, analysts predict $133.3 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 7.8% from the year-ago quarter.
• Wall Street Earnings Expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of 8 cents per share. Estimates range from 6 cents to 9 cents.

What our community says:
CAPS All Stars are split on WGO, with 49.4% rating it an "outperform" and 50.6% giving it an "underperform" rating. The community is of two minds on the stock with 50.6% Fools giving it an "outperform" rating and 49.4% an "underperform" rating. Fools are bearish on Winnebago Industries and haven't been shy with their opinions lately, logging 176 posts in the past 30 days. Winnebago Industries' bearish CAPS rating of two out of five stars falls short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Winnebago Industries' income has fallen year over year by an average of 29.9% over the past five quarters. The company's revenue has now risen for two straight quarters. The company's gross margin shrank by 2.6 percentage points in the last quarter. Revenue rose 6% while cost of sales rose 9% to $122 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.

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Earnings estimates provided by Zacks