Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Why Investors Need to Take Advantage of These 2 Consumer Staples Stocks Now

Read MoreHide Full Article

Wall Street watches a company's quarterly report closely to understand as much as possible about its recent performance and what to expect going forward. Of course, one figure often stands out among the rest: earnings.

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.

Now that we know how important earnings and earnings surprises are, it's time to show investors how to take advantage of these events to boost their returns by utilizing the Zacks Earnings ESP filter.

The Zacks Earnings ESP, Explained

The Zacks Expected Surprise Prediction, or ESP, works by locking in on the most up-to-date analyst earnings revisions because they can be more accurate than estimates from weeks or even months before the actual release date. The thinking is pretty straightforward: analysts who provide earnings estimates closer to the report are likely to have more information.

With this in mind, the Expected Surprise Prediction compares the Most Accurate Estimate (being the most recent) against the overall Zacks Consensus Estimate. The percentage difference provides the ESP figure. The system also utilizes our core Zacks Rank to provide a stronger system for identifying stocks that might beat their next quarterly earnings estimate and possibly see the stock price climb.

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.

Most stocks, about 60%, fall into the #3 (Hold) category, and they are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with a #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) rating, or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market, with Strong Buy stocks outperforming more than any other rank.

Should You Consider Hershey?

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. Hershey (HSY - Free Report) holds a #2 (Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.81 a share two days away from its upcoming earnings release on February 2, 2023.

By taking the percentage difference between the $1.81 Most Accurate Estimate and the $1.78 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Hershey has an Earnings ESP of +1.77%. Investors should also know that HSY 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.

HSY is one of just a large database of Consumer Staples stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Clorox (CLX - Free Report) .

Clorox, which is readying to report earnings on February 2, 2023, sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $0.66 a share, and CLX is two days out from its next earnings report.

For Clorox, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.66 is +0.95%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, HSY and CLX could potentially post earnings beats in their next reports.

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:


Hershey Company (The) (HSY) - free report >>

The Clorox Company (CLX) - free report >>

Published in