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Why Investors Need to Take Advantage of These 2 Finance Stocks Now

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Two factors often determine stock prices in the long run: earnings and interest rates. Investors can't control the latter, but they can focus on a company's earnings results every quarter.

Life and the stock market are both about expectations, and rising above what is expected is often rewarded, while falling short can come with negative consequences. Investors might want to try to capture stronger returns by finding positive earnings surprises.

The ability to identify stocks that are likely to top quarterly earnings expectations can be profitable, but it's no simple task. Here at Zacks, our Earnings ESP filter helps make things easier.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, Explained

The Zacks Earnings ESP is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.

Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.

When we join a positive earnings ESP with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or stronger, stocks posted a positive bottom-line surprise 70% of the time. Plus, this system saw investors produce roughly 28% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.

Stocks with a ranking of #3 (Hold), or 60% of all stocks covered by the Zacks Rank, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with rankings of #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy), or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market; Strong Buy stocks should outperform more than any other rank.

Should You Consider American Tower?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. American Tower (AMT - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) 30 days from its next quarterly earnings release on April 24, 2024, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $2.58 a share.

By taking the percentage difference between the $2.58 Most Accurate Estimate and the $2.56 Zacks Consensus Estimate, American Tower has an Earnings ESP of +0.74%. Investors should also know that AMT is one of a large group of stocks with positive ESPs. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

AMT is just one of a large group of Finance stocks with a positive ESP figure. NNN REIT (NNN - Free Report) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.

NNN REIT is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on May 7, 2024. NNN's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.84 a share 43 days from its next earnings release.

For NNN REIT, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.83 is +0.9%.

AMT and NNN's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.

Find Stocks to Buy or Sell Before They're Reported

Use the Zacks Earnings ESP Filter to turn up stocks with the highest probability of positively, or negatively, surprising to buy or sell before they're reported for profitable earnings season trading. Check it out here >>


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


American Tower Corporation (AMT) - free report >>

NNN REIT, Inc. (NNN) - free report >>

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