The week in preview: High hopes for Apple, Chipotle, Travelers and more

The bright spot in the financial sector this week will be insurance, in particular, The Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV). In its third quarter, Travelers appointed a new chief marketing officer and declared a quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect this St. Paul, Minn.-based business insurer to report a third-quarter profit of $1.32 per share, which is 58.3% higher than in the same period of last year. But revenue for the period that ended in September is expected to total $5.9 billion, 3.0% lower than a year ago. So far, the full-year forecast is for $5.28 per share, about the same as last year, on $23.5 billion (-4.0%). Travelers' earnings have been better than expected in two of the past three quarters, but missed by two cents per share in the second quarter. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 7.5% and the earnings multiple is 8.9x. The First Call consensus recommendation has been to buy TRV for more than 90 days, and the mean price target is $56.00. One analyst, however, just downgraded Travelers and others due to the financial outlook for property and casualty insurers. At $48.67, Travelers shares are 20.4% higher than three months ago.

Fellow insurer Chubb Corp. (NYSE: CB) is also expected to post double-digit earnings growth. But earnings declines are expected from American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) and Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF), while Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN), Marshall & Ilsley Corp. (NYSE: MI), Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF), SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI), and Zions Bancorp. (NASDAQ: ZION) are expected to post losses.

On the heels of strong results from International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) last week, this week's earnings winner in the tech sector appears to be Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). During the fiscal fourth quarter in which its App Store reached two billion downloads and CEO Steve Jobs recovered from a liver transplant, analysts are looking the Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac and iPhone maker to report earnings of $1.42 per share, up 11.3% from the same period a year ago. Sales for the period that ended in September are expected to be 16.6% higher to $9.2 billion. For the fiscal year, the forecast is for $5.88 per share (+8.8%) on $35.9 billion (+10.4%). Apple's earnings have beat the Street view in the past five quarters, by as much as 39 cents per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 18.0%, which is better than that of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and its earnings multiple is 15x. The consensus recommendation remains to buy AAPL, with a mean price target is $205.37. Apple shares have risen 23.9% in the past three months and reached a 52-week high of $192.32 last week.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), on the other hand, is expected to report a year-over-year decline in its fiscal first-quarter earnings. And analysts are looking for lower EPS from AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM), Juniper Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: JNPR), Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) as well.

Analysts also have high expectations this week for consumer favorites Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS), Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY), McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD), and Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX).

But Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE: CMG) could be one of this week's earnings winners in this category. Analysts expect this Denver-based restaurant chain to report a profit of $0.87 per share for the third quarter during which it became possible to order its offerings via iPhone. That profit would be 32.2% higher than last year. Revenue for the period that ended in September is expected to be 14.2% higher to $388.8 million. So far, the full-year forecast is for $3.46 per share (+31.8%) on $1.5 billion (+14.4%). Chipotle earnings have been better than expected in the past three quarters, beating estimates by as much as 22 cents per share. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 21.3%, which is higher than that of Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM), one of the world's largest fast-food operators. Chipotle has hade more cash on hand than long-term debt in recent quarters, as well as rising net cash flow from operations. Investopedia recently said it expects another earnings beat from Chipotle. At $90.53, shares are 6.4% higher than three months ago, and 46.1% higher than a year ago.

Not quite so fortunate, Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM), and United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) are expected to post lower earnings, while New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) is expected to report a narrow loss.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) saw changes in management and to its board in the third quarter, and analysts are looking for the drug maker to report earnings of $0.67 per share, up from $0.59 per share in the same period a year ago. Sales for the three months that ended in September are expected to be 27.9% higher to $1.8 billion. And analysts foresee sequential growth in both EPS and revenue in the fourth quarter. Gilead Sciences has met or beat the Street view in the past four quarters. The long-term EPS growth forecast is 15.9%, which is better than rivals Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), and the earnings multiple is 16x. Net cash flow from operations has been growing in recent quarters. Analyst, on average, recommend buying GILD, with a mean price target is $55.63. Shares are 3.5% lower than three months ago to $46.17. They have met resistance from the 200-day moving average in that region since early August.

This week's other anticipated earnings gainers include Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN), Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY), Kimberly Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB), Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN), and Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE: DGX).

Analysts are looking for lower year-over-year earnings from Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW), DuPont (NYSE: DD), Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY), Gannett Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), Potash Corp. (NYSE: POT), Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: HOT), 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), and Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX).

And Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) are expected to have swung to losses in the third quarter.

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