NN, Inc. (NNBR) and Altra Holdings (AIMC)

Investors must be feeling pretty good about NN, Inc.'s (NNBR - Snapshot Report) first quarter report this Thursday, because today the company made it all the way to the front of the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List.

Shares gained by about 8.4% while volume moved past 516,000, compared to the daily average of around 133,000.

And why shouldn't they feel good about NNBR's upcoming quarter? Looking back over the past 5 quarters, the company has beaten 4 times and missed once.

This time, analysts are expecting earnings per share of 31 cents, compared to 8 cents a year earlier. Much like the annual expectations for NNBR, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter has moved forward over the past 2 months.

NN, Inc. manufactures and supplies high precision metal bearing components, industrial plastic and rubber products and precision metal components to a variety of markets on a global basis.

It is part of the metal processors & fabricators industry, which has 6 total representatives on the Zacks #1 Rank List. The other 5 names are Dynamic Materials Corporation (BOOM - Snapshot Report), The Timken Company (TKR - Snapshot Report), TriMas Corporation (TKS), Worthington Industries, Inc. (WOR - Snapshot Report) and Horsehead Holding Corp. (ZINC - Snapshot Report).

Strong global demand for its products led to a solid fourth-quarter performance, which was announced in March. Earnings per share of 30 cents beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by nearly 43%. Meanwhile, net sales jumped 23.1% from last year to $96.3 million.

The company believes the demand will continue into 2011, and forecasted revenues for the year between $405 million and $415 million. The midpoint of this range would mark an improvement of 12% over fiscal 2010.

There are only 2 total estimates for 2011 and 2012 each, and they haven't moved at all in the past 30 days. However, expectations are well above levels from 2 months ago thanks the strong fourth quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year is $1.45 per share, up 23% in 60 days.

Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 is $1.65 per share, which is up nearly 14% in the past 2 months. The outlook also suggests year-over-year profit growth at the same percentage of 14%.

Another company enjoying broad-based demand is Altra Holdings, Inc. (AIMC - Snapshot Report).

Today, this company gained 2.64%, which rose pretty high on the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List for what turned out to be a rather lackluster session. Volume more than doubled to 364,000, versus the daily average of nearly 160,000.

AIMC, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Altra Industrial Motion, Inc., is a leading multinational designer, producer and marketer of a wide range of mechanical power transmission products.

The company is part of the machinery – general industrial on the Zacks #1 Rank List. Besides AIMC, there are 8 other names from this space on today's list: Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT - Snapshot Report), Dover Corporation (DOV - Analyst Report), Gardner Denver, Inc. (GDI - Snapshot Report), Graco Inc. (GGG - Snapshot Report), Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW - Analyst Report), Kadant Inc. (KAI - Snapshot Report), Sun Hydraulics Corrporation (SHNY) and Twin Disc, Inc. (TWIN - Snapshot Report).

Unlike NNBR, Altra Holdings has seen a lot of revisions to its earnings estimates of late. The past 7 days have seen all 5 estimates for 2011 move higher. In the same period, four of 6 total estimates for 2012 advanced.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2011 is $1.49 per share, which is up 9.6% in the past week. As for 2012, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is up nearly 7% in 7 days, and also suggests 14% profit growth year over year.

The earnings estimates are reacting to AIMC's first-quarter report from late last month. The company announced earnings per share of 40 cents, which eclipsed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by more than 21%. It was the sixth straight quarter with a positive earnings surprise for AIMC.

Sales were up a little more than 25% to $159.8 million.

The company believes that demand will remain strong for the rest of the year, and so it raised its guidance for the full year. Altra Holdings now forecasts earnings per share between $1.36 and $1.46 for 2011, with sales at $600 million to $620 million.

Read the full analyst report on NNBR

Read the full analyst report on GDI

Read the full analyst report on WOR

Read the full analyst report on ITW

Read the full analyst report on DOV

Read the full analyst report on BOOM

Read the full analyst report on KAI

Read the full analyst report on TKR

Read the full analyst report on AIT

Read the full analyst report on AIMC

Read the full analyst report on GGG

Read the full analyst report on TWIN

Read the full analyst report on TRS

Read the full analyst report on ZINC