Lower earnings expected at Polaris and Arctic Cat because of strong dollar

Lower earnings estimates at Polaris and Arctic Cat

Both Polaris Industries Inc. and Arctic Cat face foreign currency head winds on sales of snowmobiles, all-terrain and off-road vehicles outside the United States. In advance of Polaris' first-quarter results expected Thursday, Wedbush Securities analyst James Hardiman sent out a research note in which he lowered his full-year 2015 earnings-per-share estimate on Polaris by 10 cents to $7.47 per share.

While earnings are expected to take a hit, Hardiman wrote that Medina-based Polaris could still manage some earnings growth.

"If [Polaris] can continue to grow [off-road vehicle sales]in the high single-/low double-digit range, the company can continue to put up high-teens/low-20s [earnings per share] growth," he said.

Hardiman is maintaining his "outperform" rating on Polaris.

Hardiman also lowered his earnings estimate on rival Arctic Cat. He is less certain they can overcome the foreign currency head winds, especially since they have more inventory to sell at discounted prices. Hardiman has a "neutral" rating on Plymouth-based Arctic Cat.

Patrick Kennedy

On Wednesday, U.S. Bancorp reported a profit of $1.4 billion for its first quarter, a 2.4 percent increase over the first quarter last year.

The bond rating agency DBRS rated U.S. Bancorp Issuer & Senior Debt at AA with a "stable" trend, and in a research note analysts noted its strong performance despite the difficult operating environment. "USB continues to demonstrate strong discipline in controlling expenses, as well as steady organic loan and deposit growth."

They added: "USB remains one of the strongest performing banking companies globally."

Patrick Kennedy

UnitedHealth leads managed care companies in first quarter

It reported revenue of $35.8 billion and earnings per share of $1.46, both above analysts' expectations.

The Minnetonka-based company also raised its earnings guidance for the rest of the year.

Based on UnitedHealth's results, analyst Ana Gupte from Leerink is expecting a good first quarter for other managed care companies.

"We are more positive on UNH post this report, and it reinforces our view that managed care will enjoy some beats and raises in 1Q15," she wrote.