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These 2 Business Services Stocks Could Beat Earnings: Why They Should Be on Your Radar

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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.

The earnings figure itself is key, of course, but a beat or miss on the bottom line can sometimes be just as, if not more, important. Therefore, investors should consider paying close attention to these earnings surprises, as a big beat can help a stock climb and vice versa.

Hunting for 'earnings whispers' or companies poised to beat their quarterly earnings estimates is a somewhat common practice. But that doesn't make it easy. One way that has been proven to work is by using the Zacks Earnings ESP tool.

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.

The core of the ESP model is comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the resulting percentage difference between the two equals the Expected Surprise Prediction. The Zacks Rank is also factored into the ESP metric to better help find companies that appear poised to top their next bottom-line consensus estimate, which will hopefully help lift the stock price.

In fact, when we combined a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, stocks produced a positive surprise 70% of the time. Perhaps most importantly, using these parameters has helped produce 28.3% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.

Stocks with a #3 (Hold) ranking, which is most stocks covered at 60%, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. But stocks that fall into the #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) ranking, 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 Booz Allen Hamilton?

The last thing we will do today, now that we have a grasp on the ESP and how powerful of a tool it can be, is to quickly look at a qualifying stock. Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH - Free Report) holds a #1 (Strong Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.05 a share 16 days away from its upcoming earnings release on January 27, 2023.

Booz Allen Hamilton's Earnings ESP sits at +2.14%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.05 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.03. BAH is also part of a large group of stocks that boast a positive ESP. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

BAH is part of a big group of Business Services stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Visa (V - Free Report) as well.

Visa, which is readying to report earnings on January 26, 2023, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $2.01 a share, and V is 15 days out from its next earnings report.

Visa's Earnings ESP figure currently stands at +0.21% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.

BAH and V's positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.

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 >>


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Visa Inc. (V) - free report >>

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (BAH) - free report >>

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