Last week, the Wall Street saw Q1 earnings releases from almost 90% of the defense biggies like Northrop Grumman Corp., The Boeing Company (BA Quick QuoteBA - Free Report) , L-3 Technologies, Inc. , General Dynamics Corp., Raytheon Co., United Technologies Corporation and Pentagon’s largest defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT Quick QuoteLMT - Free Report) , to name a few. Notably, most of these corporations came up with an earnings beat this quarter.

We have already crossed the halfway mark of first-quarter 2017 earnings season, with 57.6% or 288 members of the S&P 500 members having released their earnings report as of Apr 28, 2017. Reported earnings were up 13.7% year over year on 8.2% higher revenues. Among them, 76.4% beat EPS estimates while 68.1% topped revenue estimates.

For the remaining 212 index members, combined with the already reported 288 index members, earnings are estimated to improve 11.2% on 6.2% higher revenues this season, with three of the 16 Zacks sectors witnessing growth in the negative territory. Notably, this could be the third straight quarter to record earnings growth after five quarters of back-to-back declines.

With nearly 1000 companies scheduled to report results this week, including 126 S&P 500 members we believe it to be a busy one for this season. Now, let us focus on the defense sector as it is expected to see quite a few of the major defense contractors coming up with financial numbers.

In the Aerospace and Defense industry, 96.7% of the index’s market cap has reported quarterly results so far, with 77.8% beating on earnings and 44.4% exceeding revenue expectations. Undoubtedly, such bullish releases raise hopes of a much better performance for the sector, as we move into the second half of the Q1 reporting cycle. In fact, projections are of a 9.1% surge in earnings despite 2.1% revenue deterioration. For more details on quarterly releases, you can go through our Earnings Preview report.

Let’s take a look at five defense companies – Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII Quick QuoteHII - Free Report) , Teledyne Technologies Inc. (TDY Quick QuoteTDY - Free Report) , Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS Quick QuoteLDOS - Free Report) , Orbital ATK, Inc. and Engility Holdings, Inc. . While Huntington Ingalls, Teledyne Technologies, Leidos Holdings and Engility Holdings are scheduled to release quarterly results on May 4, Orbital ATK is expected to report its results on the same day.

Huntington Ingalls posted a positive earnings surprise of 47.98% in the preceding quarter. Notably, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the past four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 19.85%.

Our proven model shows that Huntington Ingalls is likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen and Huntington Ingalls has the right mix. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

This Zacks Rank #2 stock has an Earnings ESP of +0.37% as the Most Accurate estimate is $2.73, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged slightly lower at $2.72.

Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions. (Read more: Huntington Ingalls Q1 Earnings: Will It Beat Again?)

Teledyne Technologies reported a positive earnings surprise of 20.44% in the prior quarter. Notably, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the past four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 10.97%.

However, the company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 75 cents. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3, which complicates our surprise prediction in this quarter.

Leidos Holdings, another Zacks Rank #3 stock, posted a negative earnings surprise of 7.41% last quarter. However, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the past four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 5.80%.

The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.28%. That is because the Most Accurate estimate is 79 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged lower at 78 cents. This makes us reasonably confident of an earnings beat this quarter.

Orbital ATK reported a negative earnings surprise of 13.10% in the last quarter. Also, the company had reported an average negative surprise of 3.08% in the trailing four quarters.

However, the company has an Earnings ESP of +2.22%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate is $1.38, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged lower at $1.35. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here

This makes us reasonably confident of an earnings beat this quarter.

Engility Holdings, again with a Zacks Rank #3. It reported a positive earnings surprise of 2.00% in the prior quarter. Notably, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the past four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 20.19%.

However, the company has an Earnings ESP of -5.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate is 38 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged higher at 40 cents. This complicates our surprise prediction in this quarter.

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