El Paso Electric Company (EE) has surprised on estimates four quarters in a row by an average of 19.23%. The company has attractive valuations. It is trading at 12.9x forward earnings.

Company Description

El Paso Electric produces electricity for about 360,000 customers in the Rio Grande Valley in west Texas and southern New Mexico.

El Paso Surprised in the Third Quarter by 15.15%

On Oct 29, El Paso reported third quarter results which beat the Zacks Consensus by 10 cents per share. Earnings per share were 76 cents, or 2 cents better than the year ago period. Analysts had been expecting just 66 cents.

Retail non-fuel base revenues rose 8.1% compared to the year ago period due mainly to a 13.6% increase in kWh sales to residential customers. Hotter weather boosted kWh sales to residential customers in the quarter.

The company repurchased 751,235 shares in the quarter for a total cost of $12.9 million. There were no shares repurchased in either the first or the second quarters.

2009 Guidance Raised

El Paso Electric adjusted its 2009 earnings guidance by narrowing the lower end of its guidance range to $1.35 from $1.00 and raising the upper end by 5 cents to $1.55.

Zacks Consensus Estimates Jump

In response to the company adjusting their guidance range and posting yet another earnings beat, covering analysts raised 2009 estimates to $1.55 from $1.37 per share in the last 30 days.

1 analyst also raised the 2010 estimate in the last week as the Zacks Consensus moved higher by 2 cents to $1.60 per share.

Value Fundamentals

El Paso Electric is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has a price-to-book ratio of 12.9. The company has a solid 5-year average return on equity (ROE) of 10.52%.

Tracey Ryniec is the Value Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. She is also the Editor in charge of the market-beating Zacks Value Trader service.

Zacks Investment Research

1. (CTB) Cooper Tire & Rubber Company – Earnings Beat Expectations – Consensus Estimates JumpCooper Tire & Rubber Company (CTB) has surprised on estimates 4 consecutive quarters by an...
2. (GE) General Electric Company Beats Consensus EstimatesGeneral Electric Company (GE) reported earnings per share of 22 cents for the third quarter...
3. (EP) El Paso Corporation – Surprised by Almost 25% in Last Three QuartersEl Paso Corporation (EP) has surprised on the Zacks Consensus Estimate 3 out of the...
4. (EPB) – El Paso Pipeline Partners – In spite of all the economic turmoil and lower energy prices, analyst estimates are upEl Paso Pipeline Partners, LP (EPB) share price recently rebounded after dipping lower with crude...
5. (EPB) – El Paso Pipeline Partners – In spite of all the economic turmoil and lower energy prices, analyst estimates are upEl Paso Pipeline Partners, LP (EPB) share price recently rebounded after dipping lower with crude...
6. (EPB) – El Paso Pipeline Partners – In spite of all the economic turmoil and lower energy prices, analyst estimates are upEl Paso Pipeline Partners, LP (EPB) share price recently rebounded after dipping lower with crude...

Search Posts by Tag: EE | El Paso Electric Company | Electric Utilities | Utilities

RSS Feeds by Tag: EE | El Paso Electric Company | Electric Utilities | Utilities |

Other Posts by: vitalstocks | RSS Feed for this author