Yahoo Finance How to Boost Your Portfolio with Top Finance Stocks Set to Beat Earnings
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.
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.
2 Stocks to Add to Your Watchlist
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 final step today is to look at a stock that meets our ESP qualifications. Citigroup (C) earns a Zacks Rank #3 15 days from its next quarterly earnings release on April 12, 2024, and its Most Accurate Estimate comes in at $1.43 a share.
Citigroup's Earnings ESP sits at 0.13%, which, as explained above, is calculated by taking the percentage difference between the $1.43 Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42.
C is just one of a large group of Finance stocks with a positive ESP figure. Ares Capital (ARCC) is another qualifying stock you may want to consider.
Ares Capital, which is readying to report earnings on April 23, 2024, sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) right now. It's Most Accurate Estimate is currently $0.60 a share, and ARCC is 26 days out from its next earnings report.
Ares Capital's Earnings ESP figure currently stands at 2.66% after taking the percentage difference between its Most Accurate Estimate and its Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.58.
Because both stocks hold a positive Earnings ESP, C and ARCC 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 >>
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Citigroup Inc. (C) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
