Back to top

Image: Bigstock

How to Find Strong Finance Stocks Slated for Positive Earnings Surprises

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.

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 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.

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 Crown Castle?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Crown Castle (CCI - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) six days from its next quarterly earnings release on October 18, 2023, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.80 a share.

CCI has an Earnings ESP figure of +0.7%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.80 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.78. Crown Castle is one of a large database 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.

CCI is part of a big group of Finance stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Chubb (CB - Free Report) as well.

Chubb, which is readying to report earnings on October 24, 2023, sits at a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $4.35 a share, and CB is 12 days out from its next earnings report.

For Chubb, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.21 is +3.52%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, CCI and CB 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:


Chubb Limited (CB) - free report >>

Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) - free report >>

Published in