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Steel Stocks Q2 Earnings to Watch on Aug 2: FSTR, ZEUS

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With the Q2 earnings season in full swing, several companies are scheduled to report their financial results this week.
    
While estimating the performances of steel stocks, we note that headwinds like economic sluggishness of major industrial goods’ consumers like China, forex issues and dismal pricing conditions in energy & mining markets might limit growth.  

According to the Zacks Industry classification, the steel product producing stocks are broadly grouped under Basic Materials, one of the 16 Zacks sectors. Per our latest Earnings Preview article, this industry is likely to underperform this earnings season.

In fact, our report dated Jul 29, 2016 indicates that overall earnings for the sector are expected to be down 10.6% year over year in Q2, while revenues are expected to fall 7.6%. Notably, the sector had witnessed a decline of 15.7% and 8.6% in earnings and revenues, respectively, in Q1.

As we move further into this earnings season, let us see how these steel companies are poised ahead of the earnings announcement on Aug 2.

What’s in Store for these Two Steel Stocks?

LB Foster Co. (FSTR - Free Report) is expected to release Q2 results on Aug 2. In the last four quarters, the company reported an average negative earnings surprise of 79.35%. Our proven model does not conclusively show that LB Foster is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. This is because the company’s Earnings ESP (the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate) is 0.00%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock is currently pegged at 19 cents per share for Q2. The company carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

FOSTER LB CO Price and EPS Surprise

FOSTER LB CO Price and EPS Surprise | FOSTER LB CO Quote

Olympic Steel Inc. (ZEUS - Free Report) is set to release Q2 results, before the market opens on Aug 2. In the last four quarters, the company reported an average positive earnings surprise of 14.42%. However, our proven model does not conclusively show that Olympic Steel is likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because the company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock is currently pegged at 41 cents per share for Q2. The company holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Though stocks with a Zacks Ranks #1 (Strong Buy), 2 or 3 (Hold) have a significantly higher chance of beating earnings, an Earnings ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult.

OLYMPIC STEEL Price and EPS Surprise

OLYMPIC STEEL Price and EPS Surprise | OLYMPIC STEEL Quote

Don’t miss on our full earnings release articles for these two steel stocks, as the actual results might hold some surprises!

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