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How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Retail and Wholesale Stocks Set to Beat Earnings

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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.

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.

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 ranking of #3 (Hold), or 60% of all stocks covered by the Zacks Rank, are expected to perform in-line with the broader market. Stocks with rankings of #2 (Buy) and #1 (Strong Buy), 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 Penske Automotive?

Now that we understand what the ESP is and how beneficial it can be, let's dive into a stock that currently fits the bill. Penske Automotive (PAG - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $4.10 a share, just 29 days from its upcoming earnings release on July 26, 2023.

PAG has an Earnings ESP figure of +3.75%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $4.10 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.95. Penske Automotive is one of a large database 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.

PAG is part of a big group of Retail and Wholesale stocks that boast a positive ESP, and investors may want to take a look at Urban Outfitters (URBN - Free Report) as well.

Urban Outfitters is a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on August 22, 2023. URBN's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.86 a share 56 days from its next earnings release.

For Urban Outfitters, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.85 is +1.69%.

PAG and URBN's positive ESP metrics may signal that a positive earnings surprise for both stocks is on the horizon.

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:


Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG) - free report >>

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) - free report >>

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