Don't Overlook These Top-Rated Stocks Ahead of Earnings
There are a number of top-rated stocks from a variety of sectors set to report their quarterly results on Thursday, August 31.
Among them are several companies that may not be household names but now appears to be a good time to buy their stocks so let’s take a look.
Consumer Staples & Retail
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet OLLI: If investors haven’t heard of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet they will defintiely want to pay attention to its stock.
Ollie’s stock has soared +60% this year and is one of the top performers in the consumer staples sector. The company is expecting stellar top and bottom-line growth as a value retailer of brand-name merchandise at reduced prices.
Second-quarter earnings are projected to skyrocket 177% to $0.61 per share with EPS at $0.22 a share in the prior-year quarter. On the top line, Q2 sales are forecasted to be up 10% to $497.58 million. More intriguing, the Zacks Expected Surprise Prediction (ESP) indicates Ollie’s could surpass earnings expectations with the Most Accurate Estimate having Q2 EPS at $0.65 per share and 6% above the Zacks Consensus.
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GMS GMS: Among the Zacks Retail and Wholesale sector, GMS is a company to keep an eye on as a distributor of wallboard and suspended ceilings used in commercial and residential buildings.
Homebuilders have done extremely well over the last year in correlation with increased demand and backlog from the pandemic. To that point, it's no surprise that GMS is benefiting as well with its stock up +41% for the year.
The strong performance could continue despite the construction products providers' fiscal first-quarter earnings expected to dip -1% at $2.40 per share. Still, following an extremely tough-to-compete-against quarter, Q1 sales are expected to be up +1% to $1.37 billion. Furthermore, top and bottom lines remain well above historic levels and it's noteworthy that the Average Zacks Price Target of $76.50 a share still suggests 5% upside in GMS stock.
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Technology
Nutanix NTNX: Investors have been heavily watching tech stocks this year and Nutanix stock is one that could have more upside.
Nutanix provides an enterprise cloud operating system that combines server, storage, virtualization, and networking software into one integrated solution. With NTNX shares up a respectable +18% YTD, Nutanix is an intriguing growth prospect and the company is expected to cross the profitability line and illustrate its expansive earnings potential.
Reporting its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, Nutanix's EPS is anticipated at $0.15 per share climb swinging from an adjusted loss of -$0.17 a share in Q4 2022. Sales are forecasted to climb 23% to $475.64 million versus $385.54 million a year ago. Better still, the Average Zacks Price Target suggests 14% upside for Nutanix stock.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Bottom Line
These stocks currently sport a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and investors shouldn’t overlook them going into their quarterly reports. While Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, GMS, and Nutanix are lesser-known names they are certainly stocks that look poised to pop if they are able to post favorable results and guidance.
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Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (OLLI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
GMS Inc. (GMS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Nutanix (NTNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
