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How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Transportation Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

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Quarterly financial reports play a vital role on Wall Street, as they help investors see how a company has performed and what might be coming down the road in the near-term. And out of all of the metrics and results to consider, earnings is one of the most important.

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.

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 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.

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 FedEx?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. FedEx (FDX - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) five days from its next quarterly earnings release on December 19, 2023, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $4.30 a share.

FedEx's Earnings ESP sits at +3.99%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $4.30 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.14. FDX 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.

FDX is part of a big group of Transportation stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Genco Shipping & Trading (GNK - Free Report) as well.

Slated to report earnings on February 28, 2024, Genco Shipping & Trading holds a #3 (Hold) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is $0.44 a share 76 days from its next quarterly update.

For Genco Shipping & Trading, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.32 is +37.5%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, FDX and GNK 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


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Genco Shipping & Trading Limited (GNK) - free report >>

FedEx Corporation (FDX) - free report >>

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