Q1 Preview: Proctor & Gamble Shares Pulling Back Heading Into Results; Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Proctor & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) are down 86 cents or 1.35 percent to $62.67 in midday market movement on Tuesday, ahead of the company's first-quarter results scheduled to be released Wednesday before the opening bell.

The company is expected by analysts to report third-quarter earnings of $1.00 per share on sales of $20.25 billion.

Proctor & Gamble reported fourth-quarter earnings of 71 cents per share, 4 cents better than the analyst estimate of 73 cents per share. Fourth-quarter revenue for the company was $18.9 billion, missing the Street's view of $19.10 billion.

Since the start of the first quarter shares of the company are up $0.06. Year-to-date the stock has risen $1.95 or 3.22 percent.

A valuation shows that Proctor & Gamble is going for a forward P/E of 17.74x full-year 2010 estimates.

Data from Bloomberg shows that 17 analysts have a Buy rating on Proctor & Gamble, 9 have Hold and zero have a Sell. The average analyst price target of $70 with a target range of $66 to $75.50.

Late Tuesday, Buckingham Research downgraded PG from Buy to Neutral, maintaining a $68 price target. Shares of the company fell to low of the day following the downgrade.

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