The Fool Looks Ahead

Updated

There's never a dull week on Wall Street. Let's go over some of the news that will shape the week to come.

Monday
The new trading week kicks off with Hillenbrand (NYS: HI) posting its quarterly results.

Is it wrong to bounce out of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend by checking out a company that makes coffins, urns, cremation equipment, and funeral-home fixtures? Not really. We all have to go sometime, and Hillenbrand's a big player in an industry that's as all-weather as they come.

Tuesday
Universal Technical Institute (NYS: UTI) and Tiffany (NYS: TIF) are just some of the companies reporting their latest financials on Tuesday.

Universal Technical Institute provides post-secondary education, but we're not talking about liberal arts courses through online universities. UTI delivers hands-on training for mechanical careers, including auto-repair specialists and marine technicians.

Tiffany, meanwhile, isn't a place for breakfast mimosas, though it does know a thing or two about ice as a popular high-end jeweler.

In these challenging economic times, you'd think that UTI would be rocking and that Tiffany would be sputtering, but Tiffany is the one that's expected to post modest year-over-year earnings growth on Tuesday.

Wednesday
Finisar (NAS: FNSR) is a hump-day reporter. It's been rough sledding for optical-networking stocks lately, and it's probably not going to get any prettier on Wednesday. Finisar is projected to earn just a little more than half as much as it did a year ago.

Thursday
It's a week after Thanksgiving, so hopefully you've already worked your way through all of the leftovers. I'm a fan of Turkey Tetrazzini Tuesday, myself.

On the earnings front, struggling apparel retailer Talbots (NYS: TLB) and tax-return giant H&R Block (NYS: HRB) report. Both companies are pegged to post losses, though at least in H&R Block's sense that's the seasonally fashionable thing to do this time of year.

Friday
The trading week wraps up with a small number of companies on the earnings stage, but I'll be watching Copart (NAS: CPRT) . Uncertainty in the big-ticket market of new cars isn't a problem for Copart. The company provides online auctions and vehicle remarketing services for used cars and those that are up for salvage. It's steady work, and analysts see Copart earning $0.58 a share in its latest quarter -- well ahead of the $0.45 it posted last year.

Until next week, I remain,

Rick Munarriz

At the time thisarticle was published The Motley Fool owns shares of Hillenbrand.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Universal Technical Institute, Hillenbrand, and Copart.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave also recommended shorting Copart. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors.Longtime Fool contributorRick Munarrizcalls them as he sees them. He owns no shares in any of the stocks in this story and is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2011 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advertisement