Back to top

Image: Bigstock

How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Business Services Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

Read MoreHide Full Article

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.

The earnings figure itself is key, of course, but a beat or miss on the bottom line can sometimes be just as, if not more, important. Therefore, investors should consider paying close attention to these earnings surprises, as a big beat can help a stock climb and vice versa.

The ability to identify stocks that are likely to top quarterly earnings expectations can be profitable, but it's no simple task. Here at Zacks, our Earnings ESP filter helps make things easier.

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.

Bringing together a positive earnings ESP alongside a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better has helped stocks report a positive earnings surprise 70% of the time. Furthermore, by using these parameters, investors have seen 28.3% annual returns on average, according to our 10 year backtest.

Most stocks, about 60%, fall into the #3 (Hold) category, and they are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with a #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy) rating, or the top 15% and top 5% of stocks, respectively, should outperform the market, with Strong Buy stocks outperforming more than any other rank.

Should You Consider StarTek?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. StarTek earns a #2 (Buy) six days from its next quarterly earnings release on November 1, 2022, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $0.13 a share.

By taking the percentage difference between the $0.13 Most Accurate Estimate and the $0.11 Zacks Consensus Estimate, StarTek has an Earnings ESP of +18.18%. Investors should also know that SRT 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.

SRT is one of just a large database of Business Services stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Clean Harbors (CLH - Free Report) .

Clean Harbors is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on November 2, 2022. CLH's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $2.14 a share seven days from its next earnings release.

Clean Harbors' Earnings ESP figure currently stands at +5.87% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.02.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, SRT and CLH 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:


Clean Harbors, Inc. (CLH) - free report >>

Published in