Earnings Preview: Monsanto Company (MON), Micron Technology Inc (MU), Alcoa Inc (AA), Constellation Brands Inc (STZ)

Fourth-quarter earnings season kicks off next week, with America's biggest aluminum producer, Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA), announcing its earnings results on Jan. 9.

The broad U.S. stock market had a record-breaking year: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) closed the year up 26.5 percent, its best return since 1995; the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) soared nearly 30 percent, its best performance since 1997; and the tech-dominated NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) racked up a gain of 38.3 percent, its seventh-biggest annual gain on record.

Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg thinks that “we could see these types of gains in a year when earnings and revenue growth disappointed and GDP growth was sliced in half goes to show how crucial a role liquidity plays and how Fed policy can be so critical in influencing the P/E multiple which expanded three points in 2013 to 17x on trailing earnings.”

Of the 10,706 ratings on S&P 500 companies at the end of the fourth quarter, 49.9 percent were Buy ratings, 44.6 percent were Hold ratings and 5.4 percent were Sell ratings, according to FactSet.

At the sector level, the energy sector had the highest percentage of Buy ratings (59 percent), while the telecom services (9 percent) and materials (9 percent) sectors had the highest percentages of Sell ratings. Since Sept. 30, the number of Buy ratings has fallen by 1.5 percent, the number of Hold ratings has decreased by 5.5 percent, and the number of Sell ratings has increased by 2.7 percent, according to FactSet.

We ran a screen and produced a list of seven notable companies set to report their earnings between Jan. 6 and Jan. 10. We've highlighted their expected reporting dates and times, along with analysts' earnings-per-share (fully reported) and revenue estimates from Thomson Reuters, as well as the stocks' trailing 12-month performances.

Tuesday After Markets Close, or AMC:

Apollo Education Group Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL) is a private education provider. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion. It is expected to report FY 2014 first-quarter EPS of 81 cents on revenue of $860.58 million, compared with a profit of $1.180 a share on revenue of $1.06 billion in the year-ago period. Apollo Education Group Inc. is trading at around $26.75 a share. In the past 12 months, the stock has gained 26.1 percent.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) engages in manufacturing and marketing semiconductor devices worldwide. The company has a market capitalization of $22.77 billion. It is expected to report FY 2014 first-quarter EPS of 42 cents on revenue of $3.72 billion, compared with a loss of 27 cents per share on revenue of $1.83 billion in the year-ago period. Micron Technology Inc. is trading at around $21.52 a share. In the past 12 months, the stock has gained 224.7 percent.

Wednesday Before Markets Open, or BMO:

Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE:STZ) is a wine company that has a market capitalization of $13.15 billion. It is expected to report FY 2014 third-quarter EPS of 89 cents on revenue of $1.38 billion, compared with EPS of 58 cents on revenue of $766.90 million in the year-ago period. Constellation Brands Inc. is trading at around $69.43 a share. In the past 12 months, the stock has gained 85.0 percent.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) is a regional chain of variety stores in the U.S. The company has a market capitalization of $7.49 billion. It is expected to report FY 2014 first-quarter EPS of 70 cents on revenue of $2.51 billion, compared with a profit of 69 cents per share on revenue of $2.42 billion in the year-ago period. Family Dollar Stores Inc. is trading at around $65.82 a share. In the past 12 months, the stock has gained 2.8 percent.

Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) along with its subsidiaries, is a provider of agricultural products for farmers. The company has a market capitalization of $61.15 billion. It's expected to report FY 2014 first-quarter EPS of 70 cents on revenue of $3.08 billion, compared with a profit of 63 cents per share on revenue of $2.94 billion in the year-ago period. Monsanto is trading at around $116.49 a share. In the past 12 months, the stock has gained 21.2 percent.

Wednesday AMC:

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) is a chain of retail stores. The company has a market capitalization of $17.11billion. It is expected to report FY 2013 third-quarter EPS of $1.15 on revenue of $2.89 billion, compared with a profit of $1.03 a share on revenue of $2.70 billion in the year-ago period. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is trading at around $79.71 a share. In the past 12 months, the stock has gained 41.9 percent.

Thursday AMC:

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) is the largest U.S. aluminum producer. The company has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion. It is expected to report FY 2013 fourth-quarter EPS of 5 cents on revenue of $5.43 billion, compared with a profit of 21 cents a share on revenue of $5.90 billion in the year-ago period. Alcoa is trading at around $10.49 a share. In the past 12 months, the stock has gained 16.7 percent.