Thinking and drinking will color in the week ahead.
Monday
We'll kick off the new trading week by taking it to the bank. Great Southern Bancorp (NASDAQ:GSBC) will be posting its fiscal third-quarter results on Monday. The Missouri-based bank with $2.2 billion in total assets is expected to grow its earnings from $0.51 a share to $0.55. That should give the company plenty of room to keep paying its $0.15-a-share quarterly dividend, if not hike it further. The company has inched its dividend higher four times over the past two years!
Tuesday
If it's Tuesday, it must be Lawson (NASDAQ:LWSN). The small enterprise-resource-planning software specialist has struggled lately. No, it's not easy going up against Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) and the other big fish angling for the corporate software buck. There has always been speculation that the buyout-happy Oracle may one day dig into Lawson, but it's not as if Lawson has been going hungry, either; it devoured Intentia earlier this year. Analysts expect profits to dip for the quarter as Lawson continues to digest its recent acquisition.
Wednesday
Hoping to hike up the trail to higher ground, footwear maker Wolverine World Wide (NYSE:WWW) reports on Wednesday. Despite recent lackluster growth, the company has managed to meet or beat Wall Street's estimates for 24 consecutive quarters. That's good to know, since the company will be discussing its seasonally strongest fiscal third-quarter numbers. Analysts expect Wolverine to earn $0.44 a share. Let's see where it sticks.
Thursday
Will shareholders raise a glass to toast Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ)? The wine, beer, and distilled spirits maker is looking to grow its fiscal second-quarter earnings per share from $0.41 to $0.43. If it doesn't, that toast may not exactly be to Constellation's health.
Friday
Peoples Educational Holdings (NASDAQ:PEDH) wraps up the trading week with its financial results. The company behind the Measuring Up programs for grade-school classrooms will hope to that it, too, can measure up. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I couldn't find any analysts following the stock as it heads into its telltale quarter at the start of the school year. That's often the case with thinly traded stocks, but it's all the more reason to check out the report and see whether the company breaks into the mainstream with a healthy showing.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz recommends windshield wiper fluid when trying to look forward. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. He does own not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
