Berkshire earnings estimates cut halfway ahead of Buffett's letter
Analyst Jay Gelb in Barclays on Friday slashed his earnings per share estimates in half for Berkshire Hathaway, assuming that Kraft Heinz has moved to slash his dividend, along with disclosure that it has come under the Regulations, will pose significant problems . 19659002] Gelb cut its Berkshire A share fourth quarter EPS estimate to $ 1,726 from $ 3,522, and to $ 1.15 from $ 2.35 for the B shares. Berkshire is set to release fourth-quarter revenue on Saturday.
The problems with Kraft Heinz are not the only problems Berkshire faces. Last year it was a tough one for insurance companies, and the conglomerate could feel a bit bit.
"The last quarter also included significant disaster losses for the global insurance industry [property and casualty] due to Hurricane Michael and California firefighters" which we would also expect to negatively affect Berkshire's earnings, "Gelb wrote.
Gelb down their earnings estimates to $ 1[ads1]3,316.88 from $ 15,112.15 for A shares and to $ 8.88 from $ 10.07 for B shares, both representing a 12 percent cut.
Despite earnings problems, the analyst held its target for both classes, which he sees at $ 375,000 and $ 250 respectively. The goals represent 21.8 percent on top of both Thursday's shares.
Kraft Heinz saw his stock thumb after the company said it lowered its dividend to 40 cents per share, a reduction of 36 percent and said it had received a summons from
Gelb said he expects Buffett to deal with a number of topics this weekend, including plans for his success, what the company will do Well with its more than $ 80 billion cash stock, the ability to buy back, its view on global issues, the state of the BNSF railroad and the company's energy investments.
-CNBCs Michael Bloom contributed to this report .
