For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – October 29, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) , FleetCor Technologies Inc. (NYSE:FLT) , Thomson Reuters Corp. (TSX:TRI) , Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. (NYSE:BAH) and Core-Mark Holding Co. Inc. (NASDAQ:CORE) .
Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:
5 High-Flying Business Service Stocks Set to Beat Q3 Earnings
Wall Street bulls have been raging since the beginning of 2019 although the pace has declined considerably in the past six months. Despite severe market fluctuations and concerns about global and U.S. economic slowdown, third-quarter 2019 results so far have not been as disappointing as expected initially. However, overall earnings are still expected to dip.
Better-Than-Expected Third-Quarter Earnings So Far
As of Oct 25, 199 S&P 500 members reported third-quarter results. Total earnings for these index members are down 0.3% from the same period last year while revenues increased 4.5%. Notably, 78.4% companies surpassed EPS estimates while 61.8% beat revenue estimates.
At present, total third-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 Index are expected to be down 3.3% from the prior-year period while revenues are expected to increase 4.1%. This indicates improvement from an earnings decline of 5% on 4.2% higher revenues, expected at the beginning of the reporting cycle. Moreover, overall guidance so far is not as disappointing as it was feared initially. (Read More: Making Sense of Q3 Earnings Season)
Business Service Sector in Q3
The industry benefited from higher government and personal spending. Since service firms have less foreign sales exposure compared to goods companies, the industry is less susceptible to trade war woes. Also, service firms incur lower foreign input costs that might be subject to tariffs.
The Business Service sector benefitted from higher demand for expertise to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs. Revenues and cash flows of most of the industry participants are expected to have remained stable through the economic cycle, enabling them to pay out stable dividends.
Rising demand for risk mitigation services was a major growth driver for the Business services sector. Changes in market dynamics were more or less a constant phenomenon, exposing companies to credit, funds and operational risks. Accurate market and financial information are required for risk mitigation, which spurred demand for business information services.
With several large and mid-sized companies shifting from conventional data solutions to technical and domain-specific expertise, data analytics solutions, financial consultancy and operational consultancy services and business service providers gained impressively.
Our Top Picks
We have narrowed down our search to five Business Service stocks that have skyrocketed year to date. Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Our research shows that for stocks with the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 or better and a positive Earnings ESP, the chance of an earnings beat is as high as 70%. These stocks are expected to gain after earnings release. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with ourEarnings ESP Filter.
S&P Global Inc.provides ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through four segments: S&P Global Ratings (Ratings), S&P Global Market Intelligence (Market Intelligence), S&P Global Platts (Platts), and S&P Dow Jones Indices (Indices). This Zacks Rank #2 company has an Earnings ESP of +1.72% for the third quarter.
The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 10.4% and 8.6% for the third quarter and the current year, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter and the full year improved 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively, over the last 30 days.
The company delivered positive earnings surprise in the last four quarters with the average beat being 3.5%. The stock has climbed 46.7% year to date. S&P Global is slated to release earnings on Oct 29, before the opening bell.
FleetCor Technologies Inc.provides commercial payment solutions in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Australasia. It offers fuel payment solutions to businesses and government entities that operate vehicle fleets, as well as to oil and leasing companies, and fuel marketers. This Zacks Rank #2 company has an Earnings ESP of +0.78% for the third quarter.
The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.8% and 11.4% for the third quarter and the full year, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter and the current year improved 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, over the last 30 days.
The company delivered positive earnings surprise in the last four quarters with an average beat of 1.8%. The stock has jumped 60.9% year to date. FleetCor Technologies is scheduled to release earnings on Oct 29, after the closing bell.
Thomson Reuters Corp.provides news and information-based tools to professionals worldwide. It operates through five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. This Zacks Rank #1 company has an Earnings ESP of +15.94% for the third quarter.
The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 41.7% and 61.3% for the third quarter and the full year, respectively. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter and the current year improved 6.3% and 0.8%, respectively, over the last 30 days.
The company delivered positive earnings surprise in the last four quarters with the average beat being 136.5%. The stock has rallied 36.9% year to date. Thomson Reuters is slated to announce earnings on Oct 31, before the opening bell.
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp.is a provider of management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations as well as cyber expertise to the United States and international governments, corporations plus not-for-profit organizations. This Zacks Rank #1 company has an Earnings ESP of +3.69% for the third quarter.
The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 2.9% and 11.2% for the third quarter and the full year, respectively. The company delivered positive earnings surprise in the last four quarters with an average beat of 14.4%. The stock has climbed 51.8% year to date. Booz Allen Hamilton is scheduled to release earnings on Nov 1, before the opening bell.
Core-Mark Holding Co. Inc.is one of the largest marketers of fresh and broad-line supply solutions to the convenience retail industry in North America. This Zacks Rank #1 company has an Earnings ESP of +1.82% for the third quarter.
The company has an expected earnings growth rate of 15.8% for the current year. The stock has rallied 21.8% year to date. Core-Mark Holding is due to release earnings on Nov 5.
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S&P Global Inc. (SPGI): Free Stock Analysis Report
Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI): Free Stock Analysis Report
FleetCor Technologies, Inc. (FLT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Core-Mark Holding Company, Inc. (CORE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (BAH): Free Stock Analysis Report
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