The week in preview: The new earnings season ramps up

Last week, Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) helped offset disappointment over Alcoa's results by offering surprisingly positive preliminary results. We'll get a better look at the big financials this week as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) are scheduled to offer first quarter results, and their earnings are expected to fall by more than half, year over year, to $1.48 and $0.32 per share, respectively. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), on the other hand is expected to have narrowed its loss to $0.37 per share. (See Bank earnings: Five things we'll learn from next week's reports.)

If Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is indicative of the tech sector, it was a rough quarter, as the semiconductor maker's first-quarter earnings are expected to have fallen more than 90% to a mere $0.02 per share. Linear Technology Corp. (NASDAQ: LLTC) and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) are expected to report a deep slide in profits as well.

Are newspapers dead? Well, Gannett Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is expected to report a profit of $0.25 per share, although that's much lower than a year ago. What about airlines? American Airlines parent AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) is expected to have deepened its first-quarter loss to $1.52 per share. Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) earnings, on the other hand, are expected to remain in the black, but not by much.

Other companies expected to report lower earnings this week include Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW), Parker Hannifin Corp. (NYSE: PH), BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT), General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC), Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG), Briggs & Stratton Corp. (NYSE: BGG), and Intuitive Surgical Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG). But who's doing well? Let's take a closer look at a few companies that analysts have high hopes for.

Abbot Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) completed an acquisition in the first quarter, as well as increasing its quarterly dividend. Analysts expect the leading pharmaceutical and health care products maker to report a profit of $0.71 per share, compared to earnings of $0.63 per share in the same quarter of last year. Revenue for the quarter is forecast to be 4.3% higher than a year ago to $7.1 billion. Abbot Labs has met or beat earnings estimates in the past five quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 11.6%, which is better than the industry average and that of rival Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK). Abbot's trailing PE ratio is 14.5. The First Call consensus recommendation is to buy ABT; Jim Cramer is bullish on Abbot Labs as well. The share price has fallen 13.9% in the past three months to $44.03, which near its 52-week low.

Analysts expect Bank of the Ozarks Inc. (NASDAQ: OZRK) to report first-quarter earnings of $0.52 per share, 11.5% higher than a year ago, but a bit lower than in the previous quarter. First-quarter revenue is expected to be 33.1% higher than a year ago to $38.1 million. The Little Rock, Ark.-based lender beat earnings estimates in the past three quarters, and it has continued its quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share. The forward PE ratio estimate is 10.0. The consensus recommendation of the handful of analysts who cover Bank of the Ozarks is to buy the stock. The share price has surged 18.1% in the past month to $22.41, but it is still 8.0% lower than a year ago.

For a first quarter that saw executive changes in its Corporate Development and Research and Development divisions, Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) is expected to report earnings of $1.01 per share, 17.8% higher than in the same period of the previous year, and 7.9% higher than in the previous quarter. First-quarter revenue is expected to total $1.1 billion, 14.9% higher than a year ago. The biotech giant topped estimates in the past five quarters, by as much as 10.8%. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 11.6%, and the forward PE ratio estimate is 13.0. Zacks recently called BIIB an aggressive growth stock and the Motley Fool considered it depression-proof. But activist investor Carl Icahn is trying to shake up the board of directors. The share price of $52.96 is 11.2% higher since the beginning of the year, but it is 17.5% lower than a year ago.

Analysts are looking for Lufkin Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LUFK), which manufactures industrial equipment, to report first-quarter earnings of $1.42 per share (+25.4%) on revenue of $187.7 million (+27.7%). The Texas-based company beat earnings estimates in the past five quarters, by as much as 10.1%. The forward PE ratio estimate is 11.0, which is better than the industry average, and the company was debt-free when it reported the previous quarter. The consensus recommendation of analysts is to buy LUFK; the Motley Fool recently called it a stock poised to pop and outrageously cheap. Shares fell to a 52-week low of $26.96 in March, and the share price is now 41.4% lower than a year ago.

From St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU), the world's largest private-sector coal producer, analysts expect to see first-quarter earnings of $0.97 per share (+73.2%) on revenue of $1.6 billion (+28.2%). Peabody beat earnings estimates in past five quarters, by as much as 58.4%. The long-term EPS growth forecast of 14.0% is better than that of rival Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI). The consensus recommendation remains to buy BTU, and the stock is a prominent pick in at least one energy fund. The share price of $28.39 is 24.8% higher since the beginning of the year, but it is still 53.7% lower than a year ago.

Vehicle insurer Progressive Corp. (NYSE: PGR) and health services company Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) are also expected to post higher profits this week.

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