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

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Two factors often determine stock prices in the long run: earnings and interest rates. Investors can't control the latter, but they can focus on a company's earnings results every quarter.

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 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.

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.

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 American Eagle Outfitters?

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. American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) earns a #2 (Buy) right now and its Most Accurate Estimate sits at $0.39 a share, just 27 days from its upcoming earnings release on September 4, 2024.

By taking the percentage difference between the $0.39 Most Accurate Estimate and the $0.37 Zacks Consensus Estimate, American Eagle Outfitters has an Earnings ESP of +4.2%. Investors should also know that AEO 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.

AEO is one of just a large database of Retail and Wholesale stocks with positive ESPs. Another solid-looking stock is Target (TGT - Free Report) .

Target is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock, and is getting ready to report earnings on August 21, 2024. TGT's Most Accurate Estimate sits at $2.19 a share 13 days from its next earnings release.

For Target, the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.18 is +0.37%.

Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, AEO and TGT 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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Target Corporation (TGT) - free report >>

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (AEO) - free report >>

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