Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices. Couple that with the proven benefits of upgrades in ratings from brokerage firms and you have a strategy that delivered a +23.3 return in 2006. Four stocks meeting this screen’s exclusive criteria are: Arch Capital Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACGL), AVX Corp. (NYSE: AVX), The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) and The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE: MTW). View the entire list of stocks for the Upgrades and Revisions Profit Track at http://at.zacks.com/?id=1844
Here are details on four companies currently identified by the Upgrades and Revisions Profit Track:
Arch Capital Group Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACGL) recently reported financial results for the first quarter. After-tax operating income available to common shareholders of $2.71 per share improved on last year’s first quarter total of $1.89 and exceeded the consensus estimate by 18%. Arch Capital Group Ltd. managed to surpass Wall Street earnings expectations each time over the past five consecutive quarters. ACGL produced earnings per share growth of 46% over the past five years.
AVX Corp. (NYSE: AVX) has seen earnings per share growth of 143% over the past five years. The company recently announced preliminary fiscal fourth-quarter results, stating that quarterly sales increased over the December quarter, and AVX had an excellent 2007 fiscal year as sales improved 12.4% over the prior year. This was the company’s highest annual sales level since the tech boom in 2001, reflecting the strong end-market demand experienced by AVX’s customers and new product development. Fourth-quarter earnings per share surpassed the consensus estimate by 15% and increased on a year-over-year basis.
The Chubb Corporation (NYSE: CB) satisfies the criteria for this Profit Track as evidenced by its earnings per share growth of 37% over the past five years. The company recently posted first-quarter earnings of $1.53 per share, topping the previous year’s $1.42 and eclipsing analysts’ expectations by 11%. The company noted that it continued to produce superior earnings in a challenging insurance market by maintaining its underwriting standards while competing effectively to retain existing accounts and write new business at adequate rates.
The Manitowoc Company, Inc. (NYSE: MTW) recently released financial results for the first quarter, noting that it set records again for net sales, earnings per share and backlog. Net sales totaled $862.1 million, a year-over-year increase of 36%. Earnings per share of $1.01 soared past the year-prior result of 47 cents and outpaced the consensus estimate by 15%. During the past five years, MTW experienced earnings per share growth of 23%.
Discover all the current stocks currently on the Upgrades and Revisions Profit Track at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=1869
About Profit Tracks
What is a "Profit Track"? Each Profit Track is a successful stock picking strategy with proven results through the Bear Market of 2001-2002 and the Bull run started in 2003. On Zacks.com we have created these nine unique screens to offer investors great strategies to potentially outperform the market in the years ahead. In 2006, the Low Price Stocks strategy was the top performing Profit Track with a return of +56.5% followed by the Discounted Fundamental screen with a +34% return. To see all nine strategies along with philosophy, past performance and current stocks, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=1838
All the Profit Track strategies were created and backtested using the Research Wizard software from Zacks Investment Research. If you like this screening strategy, but want to narrow down the list of stocks and even improve the performance, then you should start a free trial to this powerful stock picking tool. Learn more about the Research Wizard free trial offer and our new special report “Top 10 Stock Screening Strategies” at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2156
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