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Why Investors Need to Take Advantage of These 2 Business Services 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.

We know earnings results are vital, but how a company performs compared to bottom line expectations can be even more important when it comes to stock prices, especially in the near-term. This means that investors might want to take advantage of these 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 Expected Surprise Prediction, or ESP, works by locking in on the most up-to-date analyst earnings revisions because they can be more accurate than estimates from weeks or even months before the actual release date. The thinking is pretty straightforward: analysts who provide earnings estimates closer to the report are likely to have more information.

With this in mind, the Expected Surprise Prediction compares the Most Accurate Estimate (being the most recent) against the overall Zacks Consensus Estimate. The percentage difference provides the ESP figure. The system also utilizes our core Zacks Rank to provide a stronger system for identifying stocks that might beat their next quarterly earnings estimate and possibly see the stock price climb.

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 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 Trane Technologies?

The final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Trane Technologies (TT - Free Report) earns a #2 (Buy) 29 days from its next quarterly earnings release on August 7, 2024, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $3.11 a share.

By taking the percentage difference between the $3.11 Most Accurate Estimate and the $3.07 Zacks Consensus Estimate, Trane Technologies has an Earnings ESP of +1.19%. Investors should also know that TT 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.

TT is one of just a large database of Business Services stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Gen Digital (GEN - Free Report) .

Gen Digital, which is readying to report earnings on August 1, 2024, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $0.53 a share, and GEN is 23 days out from its next earnings report.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Gen Digital is $0.53, and when you take the percentage difference between that number and its Most Accurate Estimate, you get the Earnings ESP figure of +0.63%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, TT and GEN 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


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Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) - free report >>

Trane Technologies plc (TT) - free report >>

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