Zacks Earnings Preview: Crocs, Home Depot, J. C. Penny, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods Market.

CHICAGO -- Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week's list includes Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX), J. C. Penny (NYSE: JCP) and Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Earnings Preview is written by Charles Rotblut, CFA, Senior Market Analyst for Zacks.com.

For the third time this year, the markets will be closed on a Monday. Feb 19 is President's Day and everyone here in Chicago is just hoping that the temperature gets above freezing. (It was a bone-chilling -3 degrees at O'Hare on Friday morning.)

Retailers will be in the spotlight this week. Approximately one of out every 10 earnings reports will come from a company within the retail sector. Among those scheduled to report will be Dow components Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). HD is projected to report profits of 52 cents per share, which would represent a decrease from a year prior. WMT is expected to have earned 89 cents in its fourth quarter, a 6% increase from a year prior.

There will be only two monthly economic reports of note this week: January CPI and January Leading Indicators. Both reports will be released on Wednesday with core CPI expected to rise by 0.2% and Leading Indicators expected to show a 0.3% improvement. The minutes from the January Fed meeting should be released this week, probably on Wednesday (the release date is three weeks after the policy announcement) and can be accessed on the Federal Reserve's web site. Otherwise, there will just be the usual weekly reports such as the refinancing index (Wednesday) and initial jobless claims (Thursday).

Companies That Could Surprise During the Week of Feb 19 - 23

Footwear maker Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX) is three-for-three in reporting positive earnings surprises as a publicly-traded company. CROX could extend its winning streak next week. The Most Recent Consensus calls for a fourth-quarter profit of 46 cents per share, three cents above the consensus estimate of 43 cents per share. CROCS is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Feb 20, after the close of trading.

J. C. Penny (NYSE: JCP) generated a 3.6% increase in same-store sales last month, exceeding its guidance for a low single-digit increase. Two brokerage analysts reacted to the news by raising their fourth-quarter profit projections. The new consensus estimate calls for JCP to have earned $1.96 per share, a penny above the month-old forecast. The Most Recent Consensus is even more bullish at $1.97 per share. JCP has delivered positive earnings surprises for nine consecutive quarters. J. C. Penny is scheduled to report on Thursday, Feb 22, before the start of trading.

Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI) has missed expectations twice in the past four quarters, most recently by a penny per share. Recent downward revisions by three analysts suggest the natural foods chain could disappoint investors again. The Most Recent Consensus, which calls for fiscal first-quarter profits of 39 cents per share, is two cents below the consensus estimate. Whole Foods is scheduled to report on Wednesday, Feb 21, after the close of trading.

Want to turn earnings surprises into quick profits? Learn how by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=3206.

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