Market volatility is not behind us, and neither is fourth quarter earnings season. Therefore, investors should still be on the lookout for stocks that are poised to top Q4 earnings estimates.

Last week, retail industry investors locked in on Walmart’s WMT holiday quarter earnings results to see if the company could keep up its torrid e-commerce growth. The big-box retail giant’s online sales slowed as competition from Amazon AMZN intensifies, scaring off some investors. But there is still time to look for retailers that are set to surge after their earnings reports. 

One such stock is Big Lots BIG. This off-price retail company is projected to see its revenues hit $1.65 billion, which would mark a 4.41% year-over-year jump. Big Lots is also expected to see its Q4 earnings reach $2.42 per share.

Investors will be glad to know that Big Lots is projected to expand its bottom-line by over 7%. But, investors also need to know if they should expect Big Lots to actually top this solid EPS estimate.

Luckily, Zacks Premium customers can utilize the Earnings ESP Screener in order to search for stocks that are expected to beat. Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) looks to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst estimates.

This is done because, generally speaking, when an analyst posts an estimate right before an earnings release, it means that they have fresh information which could potentially be more accurate than what analysts thought about a company two or three months ago.

A positive Earnings ESP paired with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better ranking helps us feel confident about the potential for an earnings beat. In fact, our 10-year backtest has revealed that this methodology has accurately produced a positive surprise 70% of the time.

Big Lots is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and rocks a “B” grade for Value in our Style Scores system. Paired with its Earnings ESP of 0.87%, which means earnings estimates have been higher directly ahead of Big Lots Q4 results, investors should consider BIG as one that could top earnings estimates.

Investors should also note that Big Lots has topped or matched earnings estimates for three straight years.

Big Lots is set to report its Q4 and fiscal 2017 earnings results on Friday, March 2.

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Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Big Lots, Inc. (BIG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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