Veritiv Corporation
VRTV
is scheduled to report first-quarter 2021 results, before the opening bell on May 5.
Q1 Estimates
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Veritiv’s quarterly earnings is currently pegged at 2 cents, indicating a turnaround from a loss of 2 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The earnings estimate has remained unchanged over the past 30 days.
Q4 Performance
Despite a year-over-year drop in revenues in the last reported quarter, Veritiv’s earnings not only improved but also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company has an impressive surprise history with earnings beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 305%, on average.
Veritiv Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Veritiv Corporation price-eps-surprise
|
Veritiv Corporation Quote
Factors to Note
The company’s overall revenues in the first quarter are likely to reflect the unfavorable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across its segments, with the exception of Packaging. The Packaging segment’s top-line performance is likely to have benefited from accelerated e-commerce growth, rigid packaging demand and ongoing recovery in the industrial manufacturing sector.
In the Facility Solutions segment, demand for personal protective equipment and hygiene related products continued to remain strong due to the pandemic. However, the pandemic has led to business and school temporary closures, travel restrictions, constraints on large venues hosting sporting, conventions and entertainment events as well as extended work-from-home measures. These factors might have weighed on the segment’s top-line performance in the first quarter. Nevertheless, Veritiv’s efforts to improve the profitability of this segment through operational efficiencies will get reflected in its margins.
Both Print and Publishing segments continue to bear the brunt of the industry-wide decline in demand for paper and related products due to the widespread use of electronic media, surge in e-commerce, less print advertising, more electronic billing and lower volume of mails, which has been further aggravated by the pandemic. This trend continued in the first quarter as well, and might get reflected in the segment’s revenues.
The company had embarked on a restructuring plan to address the impact of the pandemic on its business as well the ongoing secular changes in the Print and Publishing segments. The plan, known as the 2020 Restructuring Plan, was designed to better align the company’s cost structure. The actions included reducing salaries, temporary furloughs, adjusting its supply chain operations staff and minimizing discretionary spending, among others. Cost savings from these actions are likely to have aided Veritiv’s first-quarter performance.
What the Zacks Model Unveils
Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Veritiv this season. The combination of a positive
Earnings ESP
and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our
Earnings ESP Filter
.
Earnings ESP:
The Earnings ESP for Veritiv is 0.00%.
Zacks Rank:
The company currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
.
Price Performance
Shares of Veritiv have soared 353% over the past year, compared with the
industry
‘s rally of 74.9%.
Stocks Poised to Beat Estimates
Here are some companies in the basic materials space you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post earnings beat this quarter:
Westlake Chemical Corporation
WLK
has a Zacks Rank #2 and an Earnings ESP of +0.64%, at present.
CF Industries Holdings, Inc.
CF
, currently a Zacks #3 Ranked stock, has an Earnings ESP of +4.53%.
GrowGeneration Corp.
GRWG
has an Earnings ESP of +3.70% and a Zacks Rank of 3, currently.
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days.
Click to get this free report