The Week in Preview: Starting Off the Year on an Up Note: APOL, BBBY, FDO ...

Apollo Group's long-term EPS growth forecast is 16.2%, which is better than that of rival Career Education Corp. (CECO), and its earnings multiple is 11x, which is lower than the industry average. The First Call consensus recommendation is to buy APOL and has been for more than 90 days. The mean price target is $83.53, but some are wary due to Apollo Group's recent legal troubles. Shares are 14.7% lower than three months ago and closed the week at $60.58.

In the three months that ended in November, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) continued to open new locations and was named one of the hardest working brands in the world. Analysts expect this New Jersey-based domestics superstore chain operator to report third-quarter earnings of $0.43 per share, up 20.9% from the same period of last year. Revenue for the period is expected to be 6.6% higher to $1.9 billion. And so far the full-year forecast is for $1.91 per share (+14.1%) on sales of $7.6 billion (+4.8%). Its earnings have beat the consensus estimate in the past five quarters, by as much as 11 cents per share.

Bed Bath & Beyond's long-term EPS growth forecast of 10.9% is better than the retail industry average, and its earnings multiple of 19x is less than the industry average. The consensus recommendation is to buy BBBY, with a mean price target of $41.03. At least one analyst expects an upside surprise this week. Since shares reached a 52-week high of $40.23 in September, that number has acted a resistance. Shares closed the week at $38.61.

IHS Inc. (IHS), a provider of technical documents and online databases, acquired Logtech (Canada) and Environment Support Services during its fiscal fourth quarter. For the three months that ended in November, IHS is expected to report that earnings rose 12.1% from a year ago to $0.66 per share. Revenue is expected to total $258.7 million, or 12.2% higher than a year ago. The full-year forecast is for a profit of $2.54 per share (+19.3%) on $968.8 million (+14.8%) in revenue. This Englewood, Colo.-based company has topped earnings estimates in recent quarters, by as much as eight cents per share.

IHS's long-term EPS growth forecast of 18.3% is better than that of competitor Thomson Reuters (TRI), and IHS's earnings multiple of 20x is less than the industry average. Analysts, on average, recommend buying IHS and have for more than 90 days. The mean price target is $60.00. Shares are 8.8% higher than three months ago and hit a new 52-week high of $55.61 last week.

During the three months that ended in November, Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO) made management changes, didn't get its day before the Supreme Court, and announced share buybacks. Analysts expect this discount retailer to report fiscal first-quarter 2010 earnings of $0.47 per share, up from $0.42 per share in the same period of last year. Revenue for the period is expected to be 4.7% higher to $1.8 billion. And the forecast is for sequential and year-over-year growth of both EPS and revenue in the second quarter. Family Dollar has beat consensus earnings estimates in most recent quarters, by as much as four cents per share.

The long-term EPS growth forecast for Family Dollar is 12.8%, which is better than that of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT). Family Dollar has an earnings multiple of 12x, which is less than the retail industry average. The consensus recommendation shifted from holding to buying FDO in the past three months, and the mean price target is $31.67. Investopedia is optimistic about discount retailers such as Family Dollar. FDO has been trading around $28.00 since early December but is 4.5% higher than three months ago.

Homebuilder Lennar Corp. (LEN), which declared a quarterly dividend during the fiscal fourth quarter, is expected to report that for the three months that ended in November, its net loss narrowed to $0.47 per share from $5.12 per share in the year-ago period. But revenue for the quarter is expected to total $851.4 million, or 33.4% lower than a year ago. The full-year forecast is for a net loss of $3.10 per share on $3.1 billion in revenue, compared with a year-ago net loss of $7.00 per share on $4.6 billion. But losses for this Miami-based company have been deeper than expected in the past four quarters.

Lennar's long-term EPS growth forecast is 8.7%, which is better than that of competitors D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI) and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. (HOV). The consensus recommendation shifted from holding to buying LEN in the past three months, and the mean price target is $17.58. But a UBS analyst is still cautious about homebuilders. Shares are 2.0% lower than three months ago and closed the week at $12.77.

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