Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN)

Titan Machinery Inc. (TITN - Snapshot Report) isn’t scheduled to report its fiscal fourth-quarter results until April, but that didn’t keep the company from making the Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers List today with a gain of 6.33%.

Meanwhile, volume almost reached 650,000 shares, compared to the daily average of around 185,000.

TITN owns and operates a network of full service agricultural and construction equipment stores in the U.S.

There was no big news to justify the company’s pop on Wednesday, but the company’s description may provide a clue. TITN will likely do well in an improving economy, and so it becomes a more attractive opportunity for the growing numbers of investors who are feeling more comfortable with the current environment.

Annual earnings estimates have been rather steady for Titan Machinery in the past month or so, but its Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) is understood when you look three months back. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the year ended last month is $1.84 per share, which is up nearly 11% from 90 days ago.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fiscal year ending January 2013 is at $1.99 per share, marking an increase of 6.4% in that time. Most of that advance has come in just the past two months. At the moment, analysts are expecting profit growth of more than 8% for this fiscal year over last fiscal year.

Another impressive factor of TITN is its string of positive earnings surprises. As the graph below shows, the company has now surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for five consecutive quarters.

In its fiscal third quarter, earnings per share of 61 cents beat our expectations by 22%.

As for the fiscal fourth quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is at 52 cents per share. That guidance is up 13% in three months and 6% in two months.

Read the full analyst report on TITN