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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: NMI, Bunge, Applied Materials, Tallgrass Energy and Sun Life Financial

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 12, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: NMI Holdings Inc. (NMIH - Free Report) , Bunge Ltd. (BG - Free Report) , Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , Tallgrass Energy LP and Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

Buy 5 Top Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Wall Street had a dream run in 2019 wherein all three major stock indexes witnessed the best yearly performance in six years. Notably, fourth-quarter 2019 earnings trends are showing steady improvement.

Although corporate earnings growth was negative year over year in the first three quarters of last year, fourth-quarter results are faring better than initially anticipated. Below we will discuss how the reporting cycle is faring and present five top-ranked mid-cap stocks that are poised to beat earnings estimates next week.

Fourth-Quarter Earnings Expectations Return to Positive Territory

Fourth-quarter 2019 earnings results are improving significantly. In fact, overall earnings expectations have rebounded and are in positive territory. As of Feb 7, 323 S&P 500 members reported fourth-quarter earnings results. Total earnings of these companies are up 0.3% from the same period last year on 4% higher revenues. Of the total, 72.1% surpassed EPS estimates while 67.8% outpaced revenue estimates.

Overall, fourth-quarter 2019 earnings for the S&P 500 Index were projected to be up 0.6% year over year on 4.2% higher revenues. This suggests a complete turnaround from earnings decline of 3.2% year over year on 3.5% higher revenues, projected at the beginning of the reporting cycle. (Read More: 3 Things to Know About the Q4 Earnings Season)

5 Stocks Set to Surpass Earnings Estimates

We have narrowed down our search to five companies that are gearing up to release their earnings results this week. Each of these stocks carries either a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Our research shows that for stocks with the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, the chance of an earnings beat is as high as 70%. These stocks are expected to soar after earnings release. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

NMI Holdings Inc.provides private mortgage guaranty insurance services in the United States. It offers mortgage insurance, reinsurance on loans and outsourced loan review services to mortgage loan originators. The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.43% for the fourth quarter.

NMI Holdings has an expected earnings growth rate of 24.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1.9% over the last 30 days. The trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 8.4%, on average. The Zacks Rank #2 company is set to release earnings results on Feb 11, after the closing bell.

Bunge Ltd. operates as an agribusiness and food company worldwide. It operates in five segments: Agribusiness, Edible Oil Products, Milling Products, Sugar and Bioenergy, and Fertilizer. The company has an Earnings ESP of +18.18% for the fourth quarter.

Bunge has an expected earnings growth rate of 30.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1.7% over the last 30 days. The trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 394.6%, on average. The Zacks Rank #1 company is set to release earnings results on Feb 12, before the opening bell.

Applied Materials Inc.provides manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display and related industries. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services and Display and Adjacent Markets. The company has an Earnings ESP of +2.89% for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 (ended December).

Applied Materials has an expected earnings growth rate of 25.3% for the current year (ending October 2020). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1.1% over the last 30 days. The last four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 4.9%, on average. The Zacks Rank #1 company is set to release earnings results on Feb 12, after the closing bell.

Tallgrass Energy LPprovides crude oil transportation services to customers in Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and the surrounding regions of the United States. It operates through three segments: Natural Gas Transportation, Crude Oil Transportation, and Gathering, Processing & Terminalling.

The company has an Earnings ESP of +2.06% for the fourth quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has improved 1% over the last 30 days. The Zacks Rank #2 company is set to release earnings results on Feb 12, after the closing bell.

Sun Life Financial Inc.is a financial services company providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five segments: Sun Life Financial Canada, Sun Life Financial United States, Sun Life Financial Asset Management, Sun Life Financial Asia and Corporate. The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.27% for the fourth quarter.

Sun Life Financial has an expected earnings growth rate of 6.8% for the current year. The last four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 2.1%, on average. The Zacks Rank #2 company is set to release earnings results on Feb 12, after the closing bell.

Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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