Today's Earnings Update

Today, we recap some of the more noteworthy earnings reports updated in the past 24 hours, what this may have done for the shares price this morning, and what the Zacks PRI expects in the coming ten days:

Wal-Mart Holds Its Own

A 2.99% positive EPS surprise is what biggest-of-big-box retailers Wal-Mart (WMT - Analyst Report) reported for quarterly earnings.  This was on positive sales growth of nearly 9% and income growth nearly six-and-a-half percent.   WMT reported 69 cents per share, and its shares price has been up as high as $46.15 this morning.

According to the Zacks Price Response Indicator (PRI), Zacks Investment Research expects a 0.42% price increase in the 10 days following the EPS earnings report.  Thus far, Wal-Mart seems to have given somewhat of a boost to the market, especially considering that its gains were not exactly huge.

Upswing for School Specialty

School Specialty's (SCHS - Analyst Report) positive 15% earnings surprise has sent its share price up over 11-and-a-half percent in this morning's trading.  Partially this could be the result of bulls on Wall Street in general today, but its year-over-year earnings growth of 37.5% may have turned a few heads.

The Zacks PRI expects a 3.46% price increase in the 10 days following the EPS earnings report. School Specialty, Inc. is one of the largest marketers of non- textbook educational supplies and furniture to schools for pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The company offers items through an innovative two- pronged marketing approach that targets both school administrators and individual teachers. The company's broad product range enables it to provide our customers with one source for virtually all of their non-textbook school supplies and furniture needs.

Pilgrim's Pride Runs Aground

U.S. chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride (PPC - Snapshot Report) has posted a negative EPS surprise of -47.86%.  Though based on sales growth of 60-and-a-half percent and year-over-year growth of nearly 118%, the share are down $1, or four-and-a-quarter percent. Zacks PRI expects a -0.23% price decrease in the 10 days following the EPS earnings report.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is one of the largest producers of prepared and fresh chicken products in North America and has one of the best known brand names in the chicken industry. Through vertical integration, they control the breeding, hatching and growing of chickens and the processing, preparation, packaging and sale of their product lines.

Burning Up at US Bioenergy

A strong EPS surprise of 50.00% has greeted investors of ethanol-producer U.S. Bioenergy (USBE), sending shares up 12.85% in late-morning trading. The consensus estimate for the quarter is 10 cents taken from estimates by 4 brokers with a standard deviation of 6 cents.   Zacks Investment Research, based on the PRI, expects a 3.46% price increase in the 10 days following the EPS earnings report.

The company currently owns and operates four ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 300 million gallons per year. This compares to the capacity of the largest domestic ethanol player, Archer Daniels Midland  (ADM - Analyst Report) which boasts a yearly production capacity of over 1 Billion gallons. By year-end 2008, the company expects to have production capacity of 780 million gallons per year. The company currently has four ethanol plants under construction.

Read the full analyst report on SCHS.

Read the full analyst report on USBE.

Learn how to profit from earnings surprises with Zacks’ Surprise Trader.

Read the full analyst report on WMT

Read the full analyst report on PPC

Read the full analyst report on SCHS

Read the full analyst report on USBE

Read the full analyst report on ADM