JPMorgan Aims for Encore Performance

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will be the first of the big banks to report its quarterly results when it unveils its third-quarter numbers before Wednesday's opening bell, and investors will be anxious to see if the company meets or exceeds Wall Street's relatively lofty expectations.

The current average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters is for a profit of 52 cents a share from the company (49 cents a share on a fully reported basis) for the three months ended in September on revenue of $24.8 billion. The earnings estimates range from 32 to 65 cents a share.

Of the 23 analysts currently covering JPMorgan, 14 have the stock rated either a strong buy (8) or a buy (6) headed into the report, so there's a fair degree of bullishness. The median analysts' 12-month price target for the stock is $49. The stock was trading down 1.6% to $45.36 in afternoon action on Tuesday.

For the second quarter ended in June, the company turned in a profit of 28 cents a share on revenue of $27.7 billion. Those results reflected a charge of $1.1 billion, or 27 cents a share, related to its repayment of TARP funds, as well as a FDIC special assessment charge of 10 cents a share.

The second-quarter numbers were well ahead of Wall Street's view for earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $25.9 billion. An area of particular strength was the company's investment banking business, which generated revenue of $7.3 billion, up 33% from first-quarter levels, with a robust contribution from its fixed income markets operations leading the way. JPMorgan's commercial banking business also thrived in the second quarter, as benefits from the Washington Mutual acquisition kicked in.