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

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Earnings are arguably the most important single number on a company's quarterly financial report. Wall Street clearly dives into all of the other metrics and management's input, but the EPS figure helps cut through all the noise.

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 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.

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.

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 #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 United Parcel Service?

Now that we understand what the ESP is and how beneficial it can be, let's dive into a stock that currently fits the bill. United Parcel Service (UPS - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $1.57 a share, just 29 days from its upcoming earnings release on April 23, 2024.

United Parcel Service's Earnings ESP sits at +1.26%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.57 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.55. UPS 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.

UPS is one of just a large database of Transportation stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Scorpio Tankers (STNG - Free Report) .

Slated to report earnings on May 7, 2024, Scorpio Tankers holds a #2 (Buy) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is $3.93 a share 43 days from its next quarterly update.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Scorpio Tankers is $3.92, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +0.21%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, UPS and STNG 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:


United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) - free report >>

Scorpio Tankers Inc. (STNG) - free report >>

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