3 Sales & Earnings Growth Winners

Here’s a great screen to run during a solid earnings season like we’re having right now. And it doesn’t hurt that we’re in the midst of an epic rally where the Dow has surged thousands of points in a few days on hopes of a coronavirus vaccine.

We’re talking about the Sales & Earnings Growth Winners screen. Of course, it starts with Zacks Rank #1s (Strong Buys) and Zacks Rank #2s (Buys), but seeks out companies with a Zacks Style Score of A or B for growth as well. It also looks for effective management through ROE and good liquidity through the current ratio.

The November rally has loaded this screen with several strong and stable growth stocks. Learn about three of them below:

Crocs (CROX Quick Quote CROX - Free Report)

Even this pandemic can’t keep Crocs (CROX Quick Quote CROX - Free Report) down, which shows the power of the brand and CROXcustomer satisfaction with their ugly yet surprisingly comfortable shoes.

Don’t call it a “pandemic stock” because CROX has been a solid company for years… long before the world changed. Let’s just say it’s performing better than most in an environment where people haven’t worn dress shoes in several months. Nobody cares what’s on your feet during a Zoom call.

The stock is up nearly 350% since the coronavirus low on March 23. More importantly, though, CROX did something in its last report that most companies don’t feel comfortable doing right now: it offered some guidance for the future.

It expects revenue growth between 20% and 30% in the fourth quarter and 5% to 7% for full-year 2020.

For the third quarter, earnings per share of 94 cents improved approximately 65% from last year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by more than 38%. It has beaten our expectations in 10 of the last 11 reports.

That rare miss came in the first quarter, while the second-quarter beat was more than 700%. It appears the company has normalized a bit after some covid chaos.

Revenue of $361.7 million improved over 15% from last year while topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by about 4.8%.

E-commerce improved 36.3% in the quarter, but this wasn’t a desperate re-focusing to stay afloat under unprecedented situations. The company has actually grown e-commerce by double digits for 14 consecutive quarters.

Over the past 60 days, earnings estimates for both this year and next have soared. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 is up just about 35% in that time to $2.63. As for next year, expectations have climbed 31.7% to $2.91.

Therefore, earnings estimates for next are expected to grow more than 10% from this year.

Tempur Sealy (TPX Quick Quote TPX - Free Report)

Gone are the days when all a mattress involved were a few springs and some padding. These days, there’s as much innovation while you’re sleeping as there is when you’re awake. Mattresses can keep you cool, switch from supportive to soft, and even elevate your head to better read this exciting article.  

In the future, you’ll probably be able to sync your mattress with the chip in your brain to ensure good dreams and a full eight hours of sleep!

But we’re not quite there yet.

Tempur Sealy (TPX Quick Quote TPX - Free Report) might be working on it because this company is a worldwide leader in mattresses, foundations, pillows and other products. Its known for its innovations in sleep with brands like Tempur-Pedic®, Sealy®, and Stearns & Foster®.

Shares of the stock are up approximately 150% from the coronavirus lows, as sleep is one of those pandemic-resistant things that you can’t do without. It’s right up there with food and Netflix. And if a new mattress is going to help refresh you during difficult times, then it’s a small price to pay.

Maybe that’s why TPX is “in the strongest financial position in its history”, according to the CEO. The company has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate for seven straight quarters now. Last time, it reported earnings per share of $2.94, which was more than 120% better than the previous year and above our expectations by nearly 35%.

Revenue of $1.13 billion improved almost 38% from last year and also topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by more than 5%. North American sales were up 43.2%, while International sales improved 12.1%.

Earnings estimates are on the rise. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year are up 21.8% to $6.66. Next year has gained 14.3% in that time to $7.52, which also suggests a year-over-year improvement of 12.9%.

Brown & Brown (BRO Quick Quote BRO - Free Report)

Now it’s time to buckle up and get ready for the thrill ride that is the insurance industry!

All right, that may be a bit over-dramatic, but it’s not exactly false. Any investor should be “thrilled” with a stable company from a highly-ranked industry that boasts an impressive earnings history.

We’re talking about Brown & Brown (BRO Quick Quote BRO - Free Report), a leading insurance brokerage firm that provides risk management solutions to individuals and businesses. It’s four segments include Retail (51.8% of commission and fees in 2019); National Programs (24.6%); Wholesale Brokerage (14.2%); and Services (9.4%).

As part of the insurance – brokerage space, it’s in the top 25% of the Zacks Industry Rank. And shares are up almost 49% since the coronavirus low.

In its third-quarter report from late last month, BRO reported earnings per share of 52 cents, which was 33% better than the previous year. The result also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by nearly 24%.

The past seven quarters included six beats and one match. The stock has an average surprise of almost 14% over the past reports.

Revenue of $674 million improved 8.9% year-over-year, while also topping our expectations by 4.8%. Improved organic growth and margin expansion were big factors in this growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year advanced 5.8% over the past 30 days to $1.63. Expectations for next year are up 5.5% in that time to $1.71. Therefore, the market expects a year-over-year improvement of just about 5%.

Also, BRO’s Board recently approved an 8.8% raise in the quarter dividend, which brings the payout to 9.25 cent per share. This marks the 27th straight year with a dividend hike.

Disclosure: Zacks.com contains statements and statistics that have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but are not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness. References to any specific ...

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