For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL –July 24, 2017 - Stocks in this week’s article include Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN – Free Report), Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB – Free Report), Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN – Free Report) and Independent Bank Corp (NASDAQ: INDB – Free Report).
4 Top Stocks That Boast Solid Earnings Acceleration
Upbeat earnings results are more often than not followed by an uptick in the share price. Notably, earnings are essentially revenues that the company generates after deducting the cost of production over a given period of time.
But earnings acceleration works even better in boosting the stock price. Studies have shown that majority of successful stocks had seen acceleration in earnings before a positive stock price movement.
Spot the Outperformers
Basically, earnings acceleration is the incremental growth in earnings of a company. In other words, if the rate of a company’s quarter-over-quarter earnings growth increases within a stipulated frame of time, it can be referred to as earnings acceleration.
In case of earnings growth, you pay for something that is already reflected in the stock price. But, earnings acceleration helps spot stocks that haven’t caught the attention of investors yet, which once secured will invariably lead to a rally in the share price. This is because earnings acceleration considers both direction and magnitude of growth rates.
Increasing percentage of earnings growth means that the company is fundamentally sound and has been on the right track for a considerable period of time. On the other hand, a sideways percentage of earnings growth indicates a period of consolidation or slowdown, while a decelerating percentage of earnings growth may at times drag prices down.
This is the reason why earnings acceleration should be viewed as a key metric for share price outperformance.
The Winning Strategy
Let’s look at stocks for which the last two quarter-over-quarter percentage EPS growth rates exceed the growth rates of the previous periods. The projected quarter-over-quarter percentage EPS growth rates are also expected to be higher than the previous periods’ growth rates.
EPS % Projected Growth (Q1)/(Q0) greater than EPS % Growth (Q0)/(Q-1) : The projected growth rate for the current quarter (Q1) over the completed quarter (Q0) has to be greater than the growth rate from the completed quarter (Q0) over one quarter ago (Q-1).
EPS % Growth (Q0)/(Q-1) greater than EPS % Growth (Q-1)/(Q-2) : The growth rate for the completed quarter (Q0) over one quarter ago (Q-1) has to be greater than the growth rate from one quarter ago (Q-1) over two quarters ago (Q-2).
EPS % Growth (Q-1)/(Q-2) greater than EPS % Growth (Q-2)/(Q-3) : The growth rate from one quarter ago (Q-1) over two quarters ago (Q-2) has to be greater than the growth rate from two quarters ago (Q-2) over three quarters ago (Q-3).
In addition to this, we have added the following parameters:
Current Price greater than or equal to $5 : This screens out the low-priced stocks.
Average 20-day volume greater than or equal to 50,000 : High trading volume implies that the stocks have adequate liquidity.
Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2 (Only Zacks' 'Buys' and 'Strong Buys' are allowed. With the Zacks Rank proving itself to be one of the best rating systems out there, this is a great way to start things off.)
The above criteria narrowed down the universe of around 7,889 stocks to only ten. Here are the top four stocks.
Verisign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN – Free Report) is a provider of domain name registry services and Internet security. The company is likely to yield a return of 11.1% this year, better than the industry’s projected gain of 10.4%.
Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB – Free Report) designs, integrates and operates systems, products and services that provide situational awareness for its customers in the transportation and defense industries. The company is likely to yield a return of 158.3% this year, better than the industry’s estimated gain of 10%.
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTEN – Free Report) is an oilfield services company. The company owns and operates a fleet of land-based drilling rigs and a fleet of pressure pumping equipment in the U.S. The company is likely to yield a return of 54.9% this year, better than the industry ’s projected gain of 6.9%.
Independent Bank Corp (NASDAQ: INDB – Free Report) is a bank holding company. The company operates through its subsidiary, Rockland Trust Company. The company is likely to yield a return of 10.7% this year, better than the industry ’s estimated gain of 9.1%.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today .
About Screen of the Week
Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Each week, Zacks Profit from the Pros free email newsletter shares a new screening strategy. Learn more about it here https://at.zacks.com/?id=112
About Zacks
Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros .
Get the full Report on VRSN - FREE
Get the full Report on CUB - FREE
Get the full Report on PTEN - FREE
Get the full Report on INDB - FREE
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch
Join us on Facebook (NASDAQ:FB): https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch
Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.
Contact: Jim Giaquinto
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9268
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: https://www.zacks.com/performance
Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer .
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Cubic Corporation (CUB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (PTEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Independent Bank Corp. (INDB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post