Beware: These 3 Stocks Could Miss Earnings Estimates This Week

Investors around the world are excitedly preparing for the busy stretch of Q4 earnings report season, which truly kicks off this week. Video streaming behemoth Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) already impressed, and in the coming days, semiconductor giant Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) will try to keep the ball rolling in the tech sector.

Meanwhile, reports are starting to pour in from market-moving companies throughout all of Wall Street’s top sectors and industries.

According to Sheraz Mian, the head of the Zacks Equity Research department and an acknowledged earnings expert, earnings growth is expected to be positive for 13 of the 16 sectors tracked by Zacks—and growth rates are projected to hit the double digits for our Energy, Technology, Construction, Industrial Products, Basic Materials, and Automotive groups.

Smart investors are always looking to profit from these results. Typically that means looking to find companies that are poised to post better-than-expected earnings results and experience strong post-earnings gains. But it can be equally important to avoid companies that are on the cusp of missing estimates.

Luckily, Zacks Premium customers can utilize the Earnings ESP Screener in order to search for stocks that are expected to surprise, in one way or the other. Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) looks to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst estimates.

This is done because, generally speaking, when an analyst posts an estimate right before an earnings release, it means that they have fresh information which could potentially be more accurate than what analysts thought about a company two or three months ago.

A positive Earnings ESP paired with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better ranking helps us feel confident about the potential for an earnings beat. In fact, our 10-year backtest has revealed that this methodology has accurately produced a positive surprise 70% of the time.

In contrast, a stock with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or worse, coupled with a negative Earnings ESP, is one that we typically want to avoid during earnings season. Today, we are giving our readers a free look at three of these weak stocks in order to help them identify the high-risk companies ahead of their upcoming reports.

Check them out now:

1. Comcast Corporation ( (NASDAQ:CMCSA) )

Comcast is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, and through its NBCUniversal subsidiary, the firm is a dominant media powerhouse. The company is scheduled to release its latest quarterly earnings report before the market opens on Jan. 24. However, Comcast is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and sports an Earnings ESP of -0.73%. CMCSA has not missed earnings estimates since early 2016, but even if the company is not on the cusp of missing profit expectations, investors should not love the fact that analyst sentiment has cooled recently.

2. Hexcel Corporation ( (NYSE:HXL) )

Hexcel is an international developer and manufacturer of materials used in the commercial aerospace, space and defense, recreation, and general industrial markets. The company is slated to announce its latest quarterly results after the market closes on Jan. 24. Hexcel has a rocky earnings surprise history and has missed estimates in two out of the last four quarters. The defense supplier is currently a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and sports an Earnings ESP of -3.74%. Analysts are calling for the company to report earnings growth of 9% and revenue growth 8%.

3. Rogers Communications, Inc. ( (NYSE:RCI) )

Rogers Communications is Canada's national communications company engaged in cellular and data communications, cable TV and internet broadcasting, and multi-media publishing. The firm is scheduled to release its latest quarterly report before the market opens on Jan. 25. The stock is currently sporting a Zacks Rank #4 (Hold) and an Earnings ESP of -1.49%. Rogers has surpassed estimates in four consecutive quarters, but prior to its current streak, the company had a long history of missing estimates. Meanwhile, shares of RCI have sunk more than 5% over the last 12 weeks.

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