Earnings Preview: Marsh & McLennan

Marsh & McLennan (MMC), an insurance and consulting company, is expected to report Q4 earnings Tuesday with a conference call scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of 31c on revenue of $2.82B. The consensus range is 24c to 36c for EPS, and revenue of $2.73B to $2.87B, according to First Call. On January 30, Marsh & McLennan announced that it had chosen Brian Duperreault as its new CEO. Duperreault is the former CEO of Ace (ACE), another insurance company.

Analyst Views

On February 4, Stifel responded to the news by upgrading Marsh & McLennan to Buy from Hold. Last month, CNBC reported that Willis Group Holdings (WSH) and Marsh & McLennan had held talks about a possible takeover of Marsh by Willis. Investors will be interested in finding out whether Willis is still interested in buying Marsh & McLennan.

On January 17, Friedman Billings predicted that Marsh & McLennan would have to undergo "additional pain and suffering" before it can become "a Wall Street darling" again. The firm recommends that investors refrain from buying the shares, and they have an Underperform rating on the stock.