Why the Earnings Surprise Streak Could Continue for Cross Country (CCRN)

If you are looking for a stock that has a solid history of beating earnings estimates and is in a good position to maintain the trend in its next quarterly report, you should consider Cross Country Healthcare (CCRN). This company, which is in the Zacks Staffing Firms industry, shows potential for another earnings beat.

When looking at the last two reports, this provider of health care staffing and workforce management services has recorded a strong streak of surpassing earnings estimates. The company has topped estimates by 45.89%, on average, in the last two quarters.

For the most recent quarter, Cross Country was expected to post earnings of $0.35 per share, but it reported $0.61 per share instead, representing a surprise of 74.29%. For the previous quarter, the consensus estimate was $0.40 per share, while it actually produced $0.47 per share, a surprise of 17.50%.

Price and EPS Surprise

Thanks in part to this history, there has been a favorable change in earnings estimates for Cross Country lately. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the stock is positive, which is a great indicator of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.

Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.

The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.

Cross Country currently has an Earnings ESP of +76.47%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner.

When the Earnings ESP comes up negative, investors should note that this will reduce the predictive power of the metric. But, a negative value is not indicative of a stock's earnings miss.

Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, though this is not the only reason why their shares gain. Additionally, some stocks may remain stable even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.

Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.