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Why Investors Need to Take Advantage of These 2 Finance Stocks Now

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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.

We know earnings results are vital, but how a company performs compared to bottom line expectations can be even more important when it comes to stock prices, especially in the near-term. This means that investors might want to take advantage of these 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 Earnings ESP, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.

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.

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 Royal Bank?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Royal Bank (RY - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) six days from its next quarterly earnings release on November 30, 2023, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.93 a share.

Royal Bank's Earnings ESP sits at +2.21%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.93 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.88. RY 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.

RY is one of just a large database of Finance stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Redfin (RDFN - Free Report) .

Redfin is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on February 15, 2024. RDFN's Most Accurate Estimate sits at -$0.20 a share 83 days from its next earnings release.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Redfin is -$0.20, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +1.18%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, RY and RDFN 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:


Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) - free report >>

Redfin Corporation (RDFN) - free report >>

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