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Here's How Investors Can Find Strong Oils and Energy Stocks with the Zacks ESP Screener
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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.
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 Earnings ESP is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.
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 Southwestern Energy?
The last thing we will do today, now that we have a grasp on the ESP and how powerful of a tool it can be, is to quickly look at a qualifying stock. Southwestern Energy (SWN - Free Report) holds a #2 (Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.36 a share 21 days away from its upcoming earnings release on November 2, 2022.
Southwestern Energy's Earnings ESP sits at +1.18%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.36 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.35. SWN 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.
SWN is one of just a large database of Oils and Energy stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is PBF Energy (PBF - Free Report) .
PBF Energy, which is readying to report earnings on October 27, 2022, sits at a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $6.58 a share, and PBF is 15 days out from its next earnings report.
For PBF Energy, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.24 is +5.52%.
SWN and PBF's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.
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 >>
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Here's How Investors Can Find Strong Oils and Energy Stocks with the Zacks ESP Screener
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.
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 Earnings ESP is more formally known as the Expected Surprise Prediction, and it aims to grab the inside track on the latest analyst estimate revisions ahead of a company's report. The idea is relatively intuitive as a newer projection might be based on more complete information.
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 Southwestern Energy?
The last thing we will do today, now that we have a grasp on the ESP and how powerful of a tool it can be, is to quickly look at a qualifying stock. Southwestern Energy (SWN - Free Report) holds a #2 (Buy) at the moment and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.36 a share 21 days away from its upcoming earnings release on November 2, 2022.
Southwestern Energy's Earnings ESP sits at +1.18%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.36 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.35. SWN 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.
SWN is one of just a large database of Oils and Energy stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is PBF Energy (PBF - Free Report) .
PBF Energy, which is readying to report earnings on October 27, 2022, sits at a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $6.58 a share, and PBF is 15 days out from its next earnings report.
For PBF Energy, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.24 is +5.52%.
SWN and PBF's positive ESP figures tell us that both stocks have a good chance at beating analyst expectations in their next earnings report.
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 >>