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DCP Midstream (DCP) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store?

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DCP Midstream, LP is set to report first-quarter 2020 results on May 6, after the closing bell.

In the last reported quarter, the master limited partnership reported earnings of 37 cents per unit that beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents on higher overall wellhead volumes.

Notably, the partnership missed earnings estimates twice and  beat twice in the last four quarters, the average negative surprise being 3.15%, as shown in the chart below.

DCP Midstream Partners, LP Price and EPS Surprise

 

DCP Midstream Partners, LP Price and EPS Surprise

DCP Midstream Partners, LP price-eps-surprise | DCP Midstream Partners, LP Quote

Let’s see how things have shaped up prior to the announcement.

Trend in Estimate Revision

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings of 42 cents has seen one upward revision and two downward movements in the past 30 days. The figure suggests a year-over-year improvement of 200%.

However, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2 billion, indicating a decline of 8.6% from the year-ago reported figure.

Factors to Note

The first quarter has seen dented global energy and fuel demand owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Since natural gas liquids (NGL) are components of natural gas and are being utilized as fuels, the drop in demand is likely to have hurt the production of hydrocarbon. This in turn has likely affected pipeline throughput of NGL.  

Being a leading NGL producer, the consensus estimate for DCP Midstream’s daily gross NGL production is pinned at 415thousand barrels (MBbls/D), suggesting a decline from 436 MBbls/D in the March quarter of 2019.

Moreover, the consensus estimate of the partnership’s NGL pipeline throughput is pegged at 596.7 (MBbls/D), indicating a decline from 668 MBbls/D in a year-ago quarter.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for DCP Midstream this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. That is not the case here as you will see below.  

Earnings ESP: The partnership’s Earnings ESP is -5.39% as the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged at 40 cents per unit, lower than the  Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: DCP Midstream currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Though an earnings beat looks uncertain for DCP Midstream, here are a few firms that you may want to consider on the basis of our model. These have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in the upcoming quarterly reports:

Comstock Resources, Inc. (CRK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.63% and is a Zacks #3 Ranked player. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results, after the closing bell on May 6. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Devon Energy Corporation (DVN - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +6.38% and a Zacks Rank of 3. It is scheduled to report first-quarter results on May 5, after the closing bell.

Laredo Petroleum, Inc. has an Earnings ESP of +2.50% and a Zacks Rank #3. The firm is scheduled to release earnings on May 6, after the closing bell.

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