Before The Bell

Earnings Watch For March 21 (FRED, GIS, DFS, SCVL)

General merchandise retailer Fred's, Inc. (FRED) is slated to report better results for the fourth quarter. The company is expected to record a profit of $0.25 per share versus $0.22 per share last year, with revenues estimated at $498.31 million. The company's shares closed Tuesday's session at $14.04. (The stock surged around 37% in Q4; MA(50)- $14.37; MA(100)- $13.77; 52-wk H/L $15.27/$10.27)

General Mills, Inc. (GIS) is due to post quarterly results. For the third quarter, the packaged foods company is expected to earn $0.56 per share, flat with last year, on revenues of $4.07 billion. GIS closed Tuesday's regular trade at $38.76. (The stock gained nearly 6% in Q3; MA(50)- $39.34; MA(100)- $39.44; 52-wk H/L $41.06/$34.64)

Discover Financial Services (DFS) is scheduled to report first-quarter results. Earnings and revenue for the quarter are expected to be $0.92 per share and $1.82 billion respectively. In the year-ago quarter, the Riverwoods, Illinois-based company earned $0.84 per share on revenues of $1.73 billion. On the NYSE, the shares closed Tuesday at $31.86. (The stock rose almost 5% in Q1; MA(50)- $28.95; MA(100)- $26.45; 52-wk H/L $33.20/$20.51)

Shoe Carnival, Inc. (SCVL) is expected to report fourth-quarter results. The company is expected to earn $0.21 per share, lower than $0.33 per share earned a year earlier, on revenues of $181.13 million. The stock closed Tuesday at $26.51. (The stock up about 9% in Q4; MA(50)- $25.72; MA(100)- $25.18; 52-wk H/L $34.05/$19.19)

Actuant Corp. (ATU), CLARCOR Inc. (CLC), H. B. Fuller Co. (FUL), Herman Miller, Inc. (MLHR) and Sonic Corp. (SONC) will also report their results today.

by RTTNews Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

More Before The Bell