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 Administaff, Inc. (NYSE: ASF), Belden, Inc. (NYSE: BDC), Lacrosse Footwear, Inc. (Nasdaq: BOOT) and Cummins, Inc. (NYSE: CMI). 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:
Administaff, Inc. (NYSE: ASF) recently declared a quarterly dividend of 11 cents per share, which will be paid on September 7, 2007 to all stockholders of record as of August 23, 2007. On August 1, the company posted record quarterly results. Second-quarter earnings of 50 cents per share outpaced the previous year’s 37 cents and exceeded the consensus estimate by 28%. Revenues for the second quarter jumped 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Administaff stated that its strong operating results have positioned it well to take advantage of new market and product opportunities over the second half of 2007 and into next year. ASF produced earnings per share growth of 100% over the past five years.
Belden, Inc. (NYSE: BDC), Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) company, announced second-quarter results in late July. Adjusted income per share from continuing operations was 79 cents, versus last year’s second-quarter result of 51 cents. The result was 11% ahead of analysts’ expectations. The company increased its full-year 2007 guidance from a range of $2.50 to $2.70 per share to a new range of $2.80 to $2.95. Wall Street is in agreement as evidenced by current 2007 forecasts of $2.90 per share, up from last month’s $2.64. BDC experienced earnings per share growth of 46% over the past five years.
Lacrosse Footwear, Inc. (Nasdaq: BOOT) recently reported second-quarter earnings per share of 15 cents, topping the consensus estimate by 15%. Consolidated net sales totaled $24.9 million, an increase of 14% from the previous year’s $21.8 million. The company mentioned that it is particularly encouraged by the positive customer response to its new spring lines of Danner and LaCrosse products During the past five years, Lacrosse Footwear experienced earnings per share growth of 30%.
Cummins, Inc. (NYSE: CMI) satisfies the criteria for this Profit Track with earnings per share growth of 181% over the past five years. In late July, CMI released record results for the second quarter. Earnings per share of $2.13 jumped ahead of the consensus estimate by 34%. Second-quarter revenues of $3.34 billion were up 18% on a year-over-year basis. Cummins raised its 2007 earnings guidance to a range of $7.15 to $7.65 per share from $6.00 to $6.50 per share. Analysts are in agreement as evidenced by current expectations of $7.47 for 2007, up from last month’s estimates of $6.41.
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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