Badger Meter, Inc. BMI is set to report second-quarter 2017 results on Jul 21, after the closing bell.

The company reported a positive earnings surprise of 15.38% in the last quarter. However, it witnessed an average negative earnings surprise of 2.07% over the trailing four quarters.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Badger Meter, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Badger Meter, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Badger Meter, Inc. Quote

Factors to Consider

Badger Meter is poised to gain from consistent growth of new products in the municipal water market and acceleration in large metering projects. Robust economic growth in the company’s North American markets driven by recovery in oil prices will also drive growth. Moreover, sustained strength of its core water meter business, led by the latest products and recovery in the flow instrumentation business will support its quarterly results.

However, Badger Meter’s performance will be marred by rise in raw material prices, delivery delays, short-term increases in inventory and higher quality-control costs.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Badger Meter is likely to beat on earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or at least 3 (Hold) for this to happen. This is not the case here as you will see below.

Zacks ESP: Badger Meter currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. This is because both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 35 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Badger Meter carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company’s 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.

We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell rated) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Share Price Performance

We note that year to date, Badger Meter has outperformed the Zacks classified Instruments-Control sub-industry with respect to price performance. The stock gained around 10.15%, while the industry gained 7.48%.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies in the broader industrial products sector that have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. AAOI, with an Earnings ESP of +6.09% and a Zacks Rank #1, is slated to release quarterly numbers on Aug 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Axcelis Technologies, Inc. ACLS, with an Earnings ESP of +3.03% and a Zacks Rank #2, is scheduled to report its results on Aug 3.

AMETEK, Inc. AME, with an Earnings ESP of +1.61% and a Zacks Rank #3, is slated to report quarterly numbers on Aug 3.

5 Trades Could Profit "Big-League" from Trump Policies

If the stocks above spark your interest, wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington's changing course.

Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals, tariffs, lower taxes, higher interest rates, and spending surges in defense and infrastructure. See these buy recommendations now >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Axcelis Technologies, Inc. (ACLS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (AAOI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
AMTEK, Inc. (AME) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research