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Consolidated Edison (ED) to Post Q2 Earnings: What's in Store?

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Consolidated Edison (ED - Free Report) is set to release second-quarter 2019 results on Aug 1, after market close.
 
In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 2.22%. Consolidated Edison also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average earnings beat being 3.99%.
 
Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

 Factors at Play

At the onset of the second quarter, major parts of Consolidated Edison’s service territory experienced heavy rainfall. However, in the latter part of the quarter, colder-than-normal temperature was witnessed.

While heavy rainfall is expected to boost electricity demand in the region, colder-than-normal summer tend to decrease the demand. In particular, in June 2019, some parts of the company’s service territories received exorbitant rainfall, which caused a few flash floods along with storms. This might have disrupted Consolidated Edison’s smooth power supply and in turn weighed on its second-quarter results.

Moreover, in May, the company issued its bearish bill projection for residential customers during this summer season compared with last year. Such lower bill expectation would be a drag on the company’s top and bottom line in the quarter to be reported.

Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s second-quarter revenues is pegged at $2.67 billion, reflecting a 1% decline from the last year’s reported figure. For earnings, the consensus mark is pinned at 60 cents, suggesting a drop of 1.6% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

Consolidated Edison Inc Price and EPS Surprise

Consolidated Edison Inc Price and EPS Surprise

Consolidated Edison Inc price-eps-surprise | Consolidated Edison Inc Quote

Earnings Whisper

Our proven model does not show that Consolidated Edison is likely to beat earnings estimates in the second quarter. Notably, a stock needs to have both — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) — for this to happen. Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell) stocks are best avoided, especially if they have a negative Earnings ESP. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: Consolidated Edison has an Earnings ESP of -0.25%.
 
Zacks Rank: The company carries a Zacks Rank #4.

Stocks to Consider
 
Here are a few other players from the Utilities sector that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

The Southern Company (SO - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.46% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release second-quarter results on Jul 31. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Black Hills Corporation (BKH - Free Report) is scheduled to release second-quarter results on Aug 5. It has an Earnings ESP of +0.75% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

PPL Corporation (PPL - Free Report) is scheduled to release second-quarter results on Aug 6. It has an Earnings ESP of +1.18% and a Zacks Rank of 3.

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