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Why Investors Need to Take Advantage of These 2 Consumer Discretionary Stocks Now
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Wall Street watches a company's quarterly report closely to understand as much as possible about its recent performance and what to expect going forward. Of course, one figure often stands out among the rest: earnings.
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.
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, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.
Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.
In fact, when we combined a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, stocks produced a positive surprise 70% of the time. Perhaps most importantly, using these parameters has helped produce 28.3% 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 Comcast?
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. Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.97 a share, just 13 days from its upcoming earnings release on October 26, 2023.
CMCSA has an Earnings ESP figure of +2.55%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.97 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.94. Comcast 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.
CMCSA is one of just a large database of Consumer Discretionary stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is AMC Entertainment (AMC - Free Report) .
Slated to report earnings on November 14, 2023, AMC Entertainment holds a #2 (Buy) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is -$0.32 a share 32 days from its next quarterly update.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMC Entertainment is -$0.41, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +20.99%.
CMCSA and AMC'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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Why Investors Need to Take Advantage of These 2 Consumer Discretionary Stocks Now
Wall Street watches a company's quarterly report closely to understand as much as possible about its recent performance and what to expect going forward. Of course, one figure often stands out among the rest: earnings.
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.
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, or Expected Surprise Prediction, aims to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst revisions. The basic premise is that if an analyst reevaluates their earnings estimate ahead of an earnings release, it means they likely have new information that could possibly be more accurate.
Now that we understand the basic idea, let's look at how the Expected Surprise Prediction works. The ESP is calculated by comparing the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate, with the percentage difference between the two giving us the Zacks ESP figure.
In fact, when we combined a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better and a positive Earnings ESP, stocks produced a positive surprise 70% of the time. Perhaps most importantly, using these parameters has helped produce 28.3% 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 Comcast?
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. Comcast (CMCSA - Free Report) earns a #3 (Hold) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.97 a share, just 13 days from its upcoming earnings release on October 26, 2023.
CMCSA has an Earnings ESP figure of +2.55%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $0.97 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.94. Comcast 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.
CMCSA is one of just a large database of Consumer Discretionary stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is AMC Entertainment (AMC - Free Report) .
Slated to report earnings on November 14, 2023, AMC Entertainment holds a #2 (Buy) ranking on the Zacks Rank, and it's Most Accurate Estimate is -$0.32 a share 32 days from its next quarterly update.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMC Entertainment is -$0.41, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +20.99%.
CMCSA and AMC'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 >>