Genuine Parts Company will report earnings on April 22
Auto and industrial parts company Genuine Parts Company (NYSE:GPC) won't step up to the earnings plate until April 22. But since the company just confirmed that release date, it seems worth checking in on the stock, especially since many Americans might be using their stimulus checks on car repairs.
On the charts, Genuine Parts stock raced to a record high of $118.83 back on March 8. The shares have since consolidated below $120, but their 10-day moving average appears to handle any sharp pullbacks. Year-over-year, GPC is up 90%, so perhaps a shift in analyst sentiment -- six of seven maintain "hold" or "strong sell" ratings -- can help the stock break into new heights.
The company has managed to beat earnings expectations on three of their four most recent earnings reports. For the first quarter of 2020, Genuine Parts missed analyst estimates by a margin of $0.15 and reported an EPS of $0.92. For the second quarter of 2020, GPC increased its EPS to $1.32 and beat expectations by a margin of $0.39.
For the third quarter of 2020, Genuine Parts Company reported another increase in earnings, rising to $1.63 per share and beating estimates by a margin of $0.23. In its most recent quarterly report, GPC reported an EPS of $1.52 and beat expectations by $0.17. Moreover, Genuine Parts Company also offers a forward dividend of $3.26 and a dividend yield of 2.84%.
From a value perspective, Genuine Parts stock is an intriguing turnaround play. Although the company finished fiscal 2020 on a net loss of $29 million, Genuine Parts stock is already estimated to have a forward price-earnings ratio of 20.41. In addition, Genuine Parts Company was growing revenues at a fast pace prior to the pandemic. GPC added over $3 billion in sales between fiscal 2017 and fiscal 2019, marking a 19% increase.
However, Genuine Parts’ net income has lacked that growth rate on the bottom line. Aside from losing about $650 million in net profits during fiscal 2020, GPC also saw a $190 million decrease for fiscal 2019. Additionally, the company has quite a bit of debt. Its total owed comes in at $3.74 billion. Meanwhile their balance sheet only carries $990 million in cash. Overall, Genuine Parts stock comes with its fair share of potential risk, but offers a nice dividend yield and some decent growth potential to balance it out.