Federal-Mogul (FDML)

On a day when the Dow and S&P 500 climb more than 2.5% each (in fact the S&P was up closer to 3%), it can become difficult to pick out a single top-performing Zacks #1 Rank ('strong buy') stock. However, with a gain of more than 11.5%, it's obvious that Federal-Mogul Corporation (FDML - Snapshot Report) makes the grade today.

FDML is part of the auto/truck-orig industry, which has a pretty good presence on the Zacks #1 Rank List as a whole. There were 10 companies from this space on the list Wednesday, including FDML.

The other 9 names are American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (AXL - Analyst Report), Autoliv, Inc. (ALV - Analyst Report), BorgWarner Inc. (BWA - Analyst Report), Lear Corporation (LEA - Snapshot Report), Magna International Inc. (MGA - Analyst Report), Stoneridge, Inc. (SRI - Snapshot Report), Superior Industries International, Inc. (SUP - Analyst Report), TRW Automotive Holdings Corporation (TRW - Analyst Report) and WABCO Holdings Inc. (WBC - Snapshot Report).

In fact, it's worthy to note that the second best performing Zacks #1 Rank company today was also from this industry, as Stoneridge chimed in with a gain of around 11.12%. These were the only 2 companies on the list with double-digit gains Wednesday.

Earnings estimates for Federal-Mogul have moved higher in the past 30 days, thanks to a solid second-quarter performance announced in late July. Earnings per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate and the year-ago performance, while revenue jumped in the double digits.

Federal-Mogul is a leading global supplier of powertrain and safety technologies, serving the world's foremost original equipment manufacturers of automotive, light commercial, heavy-duty, agricultural, marine, rail, off-road and industrial vehicles, as well as the worldwide aftermarket.

Earnings Estimates for Federal-Mogul Corporation

There are only 3 estimates for this year and next year each on Federal-Mogul. However, each of those periods have seen 2 upward revisions in the past 30 days, which has led to a nice bump in consensus expectations.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year is currently $1.23 per share, which is up 23% in the past 30 days. If you look back a little further, the guidance has advanced by 29.5% in 2 months.

Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year is $1.72 per share, or practically 40% better than this year. The outlook is up 7.5% in a month and 16.2% in 60 days.

Second-Quarter Report

The second-quarter report that sparked the most recent advance in earnings estimates involved earnings per share of 49 cents, which absolutely trounced the year-ago performance of 3 cents. The result also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents by more than 53%.

This was the third consecutive quarter with better-than-expected earnings. In fact, as the chart below shows, since a trio of earnings misses during the recession in late 2008/early 2009, the company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in 4 out of the last 5 quarters.

Sales increased by 23% year over year to $1.6 billion from $1.3 billion.

Positive factors in the quarter included its focus on efficiently managing its cost base, market share gains in all regions and markets, and enhanced demand for the company's products.

Read the full analyst report on SUP

Read the full analyst report on MGA

Read the full analyst report on AXL

Read the full analyst report on BWA

Read the full analyst report on TRW

Read the full analyst report on ALV

Read the full analyst report on FDML

Read the full analyst report on SRI

Read the full analyst report on WBC

Read the full analyst report on LEA