Earnings In Focus: June 21 (BKS, PDCO, KR, DRI, MEI, RHT)

(RTTNews) - Checkout the few notable companies that are scheduled to release their financial results on Thursday, June 21, 2018.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS), a retailer of books, content, digital media, and educational products, is slated to publish its Q4 results before the bell today, with analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimating a loss of $0.20 per share on revenue of $774.71 million for the quarter.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Total sales - $821 mln * Net loss - $13.4 mln * Loss - $0.19/Shr.

The company said its "long-term strategic plan is focused on the following four key elements: 1) strengthening the core business by enhancing the customer value proposition; 2) improving profitability through an aggressive expense management program, which will be used to fund growth initiatives; 3) accelerating execution through simplification; and 4) innovating for the future, which will position the company for long-term growth."

In the short term, Barnes & Noble is focused on stabilizing sales, improving productivity and reducing expenses.

For fiscal 2018, the company expects comparable store sales to decline in the mid-single digits and consolidated EBITDA to be in a range of $140 million - $160 million, excluding unusual or non-recurring items.

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Dental and animal health products distributor Patterson Companies (PDCO) is set to release its fourth-quarter results before the bell today. Wall Street analysts are looking for earnings of $0.30 per share and revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Net sales - $1.4 bln * Net income from cont. ops. - $61.4 mln * EPS from cont. ops - $0.65/Shr. * Adj. Income from cont. ops. - $65.6 mln * Adj. EPS from cont. ops. - $0.69/Shr

May 17, the company said its business unit Patterson Dental has strengthened its software portfolio through a distribution agreement with Solutionreach Inc. As per the agreement, Solutionreach's cloud-based patient relationship management platform will be connected with Patterson Dental's Eaglesoft and Fuse practice management systems.

FY18 Outlook

* Now expects FY18 GAAP earnings from cont. ops. to be in $2.13 - $2.18 per share range. * Now sees FY18 non-GAAP adj. EPS from cont. ops. to be $1.65 - $1.70; Consensus - $1.68/Shr.

Previously, the company expected fiscal 2018 GAAP earnings in the range of $1.67 - $1.77 per share, and non-GAAP adjusted earnings between $2.00 and $2.10 per share.

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When The Kroger Co. (KR) reports its Q1 financial results before the bell today, Wall Street analysts expect the company to report earnings of $0.63 per share and revenue of $37.3 billion.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Total sales - $36.3 bln * Net income - $303 mln * EPS $0.32/Shr. * Adj. Net income - $546 mln * Adj. EPS - $0.58/Shr

FY18 Guidance

* Targets identical supermarket sales growth, excl. fuel, to range from 1.5% to 2.0% in 2018. * Expects net earnings to range from $1.95 to $2.15 per share for 2018. * Expects capital investments, excl. mergers, acquisitions, and purchases of leased facilities, to be about $3.0 billion in 2018.

Looking at 2018 and beyond, the company said Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a catalyst that will enable Kroger to accelerate investments in Restock Kroger, launched six months ago. The company expects Restock Kroger to generate $6.5 billion of free cash flow over the next three years.

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Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) plans to release its fourth-quarter financial results before the market opens on Thursday, June 21, 2018. Analysts are looking for earnings of $1.35 per share on revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Total sales - $1.93 bln * Net income from cont. ops. - $125.4 mln * EPS from cont. ops. - $0.99/Shr. * Adj. Net income from cont. ops. - $148.8 mln * Adj. EPS from cont. ops. - $1.18/Shr

FY18 Outlook

* Now sees FY18 adj. EPS from cont. ops. of $4.75 - $4.80 versus prior view of $4.70 - $4.78/Shr; Consensus - $4.78/Shr. * Still expects FY18 total sales growth to be about 13% * Continues to project FY18 Sames-restaurant sales growth of about 2%

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Methode Electronics Inc. (MEI), a global designer and manufacturer of electro-mechanical devices, is due to report its fourth-quarter results before the bell today, with analysts estimating earnings of $0.73 per share on revenue of $246.08 million for the quarter.

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Net sales - $21.7 mln * Net income - $0.4 mln * EPS - $0.6/Shr.

FY18 Guidance

* Hikes FY18 sales target to $900 mln - $910 mln from $880 mln - $900 mln; Consensus - $905.38 mln. * Cuts FY18 EPS, incl. U.S. Tax Reform charge, outlook range to $1.23 - $1.33 from $2.43 - $2.63 per share; Consensus - $2.79/Shr. * Now sees FY18 pre-tax income from ops. of $125 mln - $130 mln versus prior view of $114 mln - $127 mln.

The company noted that the U.S. Tax Reform charge will negatively impact fiscal 2018 earnings per share by $1.52.

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Open source solutions provider Red Hat Inc. (RHT) is set to release its Q1 results on Thursday, June 21, 2018, with Wall Street analysts expecting earnings of $0.69 per share and revenue of $807.49 million for the quarter.

Q1 Expectations

* Sees Q1 revenue to be about $800 mln - $810 mln * Expects Q1 GAAP EPS to be about $0.42 * Sees Q1 non-GAAP EPS of about $0.68

Year-Ago Numbers:

* Total revenue - $677 mln * GAAP net income - $73 mln * GAAP EPS - $0.40 * Non-GAAP net income - $102 mln * Non-GAAP EPS - $0.56

The company continues to expand its position with customers as a trusted adviser and strategic technology partner, enabling initiatives focused on digital transformation and cloud computing.

FY19 Outlook

* Projects FY revenue to be about $3.425 bln - $3.460 bln; Consensus - $3.45 bln. * Expects FY GAAP EPS to be about $2.25 - $2.28. * Sees FY non-GAAP EPS of about $3.38 - $3.41; Consensus - $3.42/Shr.

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