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4 Top-Rated Stocks to Buy Now for Solid Earnings Growth

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Earnings growth is the highest priority for the top brass of any organization. This is because if the company doesn’t make money, it won’t last over the long haul. Moreover, earnings growth is the most important variable influencing the share price.

Study a company’s revenues over a given period, subtract the cost of production, and you have earnings. But, expectations of earnings also play a significant role.

Earnings Estimates & Share Price Movements

Often, we have seen a decline in the stock price despite earnings growth and a rally in price following an earnings decline. This is largely the result of a company’s earnings failing to meet market expectations.

Earnings estimates embody analysts’ opinion on factors such as sales growth, product demand, competitive industry environment, profit margins and cost control. Thus, earnings estimates serve as a valuable tool while making investment decisions. Earnings estimates also help analysts assess the cash flow to determine the fair value of a firm.

Investors should, thus, be on the lookout for stocks that are ready to make a big move. Hence, it is important for investors to buy stocks that have historical earnings growth and are seeing a rise in quarterly and annual earnings estimates.

Screening Criteria:

In order to shortlist stocks that have striking earnings growth and positive estimate revisions, we have added the following parameters:

Zacks Rank equal to 1 (Only Zacks' 'Strong Buys' are allowed. With the Zacks Rank proving itself to be one of the best rating systems out there, this is a great way to start things off.)

5-Year Historical EPS Growth (%) greater than X-Industry (stocks with a strong EPS growth history).

% Change EPS F(0)/F(-1) greater than or equal to 5 (companies that saw year-over-year earnings growth of 5% or more in the last reported fiscal).

% Change Q1 Estimates over the last 4 weeks greater than zero (stocks that have seen their current quarter earnings estimates revised higher in the last 4 weeks).

% Change F1 Estimates over the last 1 week greater than zero (stocks that have seen their annual earnings estimates revised higher in the last 1 week).

% Change F1 Estimates over the last 4 weeks greater than zero (stocks that have seen their annual earnings estimates revised higher in the last 4 weeks).

The above criteria narrowed down the universe of around 7,839 stocks to only 17. Here are the top four stocks that stand out:

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (ELF - Free Report) operates as a cosmetic company. ELF’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 7.1%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Monarch Casino & Resort (MCRI - Free Report) is dedicated to delivering the ultimate guest experience by providing exceptional services as well as the latest gaming, dining and hospitality amenities. MCRI’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 29.2%.

Incyte (INCY - Free Report) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics. INCY’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 13.8%.

Hubbell (HUBB - Free Report) is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of electrical and electronic products to commercial, industrial, utility and telecommunications markets. HUBB’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 23.4%.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

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