Computer Programs & Systems (Nasdaq: CPSI) came in under analyst's estimates last quarter, but now have a chance to fix things this quarter. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, Jan. 26. Computer Programs & Systems is a health-care information technology company that designs, develops, markets, installs, and supports computerized information technology systems to meet the unique demands of small- and mid-sized hospitals.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts strongly back Computer Programs & Systems, with nine of 13 rating it a buy and the remainder rating it a hold. Analysts like Computer Programs & Systems better than competitor Merge Healthcare overall. Analysts still rate the stock a moderate buy, but they are a bit more wary about it compared to three months ago.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $44.5 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 3.2% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.59 per share. Estimates range from $0.55 to $0.63.

What our community says:
CAPS All-Stars are solidly backing the stock with 97.8% assigning it an "outperform" rating. The community at large concurs with the All-Stars with 93.1% giving it a rating of "outperform." Fools are gung-ho about Computer Programs & Systems, though the message boards have been quiet lately with only 51 posts in the past 30 days. Even with a robust four out of five stars, Computer Programs & Systems' CAPS rating falls a little short of the community's upbeat outlook.

Management:
Computer Programs & Systems' profit has risen year over year by an average of 69.4% over the past five quarters. 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

Q3

Q2

Q1

Q4

Gross Margin

46.3%

49.5%

42.4%

45.3%

Operating Margin

22.9%

25.9%

21.0%

23.7%

Net Margin

14.2%

16.2%

13.3%

15.5%

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Earnings estimates provided by Zacks.