Back to top

Image: Bigstock

How to Find Strong Industrial Products Stocks Slated for Positive Earnings Surprises

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

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 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.

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 #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 Eaton?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Eaton (ETN - Free Report) earns a #2 (Buy) 29 days from its next quarterly earnings release on May 7, 2024, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $2.32 a share.

By taking the percentage difference between the $2.32 Most Accurate Estimate and the $2.28 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Eaton has an Earnings ESP of +2.05%. Investors should also know that ETN 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.

ETN is one of just a large database of Industrial Products stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Terex (TEX - Free Report) .

Terex, which is readying to report earnings on May 6, 2024, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $1.35 a share, and TEX is 28 days out from its next earnings report.

For Terex, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35 is +0.05%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, ETN and TEX 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:


Eaton Corporation, PLC (ETN) - free report >>

Terex Corporation (TEX) - free report >>

Published in