The following is a list of companies that have recently raised guidance above analyst estimates. In addition, all of these stocks have seen institutional buying over the last three months.
The smart money seems to think there's more good news to be priced into these names--what do you think?
Guidance data sourced from Briefing.com, institutional data sourced from Reuters.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the top six stocks mentioned below. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research. Note: The numbers on top of items represent the forward P/E ratio, if available.
The list has been sorted by change in institutional ownership.
1. MetLife, Inc. (MET): Life Insurance Industry. Market cap of $45.43B. Recently guided Q4 EPS to range between $1.04-1.14 vs. analyst estimates at 1.04. Institutional investors currently own 684,501,139 shares vs. 517,984,007 shares held three months ago (+32.15% change). Short float at 1.93%, which implies a short ratio of 2.38 days. The stock has gained 27.02% over the last year.
2. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR): Processed & Packaged Goods Industry. Market cap of $4.58B. Recently guided FY11 EPS to range between $1.19-1.29 vs. analyst estimates at 1.18. Institutional investors currently own 110,989,290 shares vs. 104,960,578 shares held three months ago (+5.74% change). Short float at 29.28%, which implies a short ratio of 6.98 days. The stock has gained 26.84% over the last year.
3. Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) Printed Circuit Boards Industry. Market cap of $4.55B. Recently guided Q2 EPS to range between $0.49-0.53 vs. analyst estimates at 0.44. Institutional investors currently own 187,968,861 shares vs. 178,300,834 shares held three months ago (+5.42% change). Short float at 2.71%, which implies a short ratio of 1.39 days. The stock has gained 20.54% over the last year.
4. Titan Machinery, Inc. (TITN) Specialty Retail Industry. Market cap of $353.53M. Recently guided FY11 EPS to range between $0.95-1.03 vs. analyst estimates at 0.93. Institutional investors currently own 13,164,754 shares vs. 12,499,293 shares held three months ago (+5.32% change). Short float at 13.04%, which implies a short ratio of 7.62 days. The stock has gained 60.57% over the last year.
5. Joy Global, Inc. (JOYG): Farm & Construction Machinery Industry. Market cap of $9.21B. Recently guided FY11 EPS to range between $5.00-5.30 vs. analyst estimates at 4.79. Institutional investors currently own 94,268,684 shares vs. 90,039,715 shares held three months ago (+4.7% change). Short float at 3.07%, which implies a short ratio of 1.95 days. The stock has gained 60.76% over the last year.
6. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS): Technical Services Industry. Market cap of $247.59M. Recently guided FY11 revenue between $550M-$560M vs. analyst estimates at $509M. Institutional investors currently own 9,809,321 shares vs. 9,389,469 shares held three months ago (+4.47% change). Short float at 3.57%, which implies a short ratio of 6.49 days. The stock has gained 23.52% over the last year.
7. TELUS Corporation (TU): Wireless Communications Industry. Market cap of $14.B. Recently guided FY11 EPS to range between $3.50-3.90 vs. analyst estimates at 3.50. Institutional investors currently own 108,990,096 shares vs. 106,237,490 shares held three months ago (+2.59% change). Short float at 0.03%, which implies a short ratio of 0.76 days. The stock has gained 45% over the last year.
8. First Solar, Inc. (FSLR): Semiconductor Industry. Market cap of $11.38B. Recently guided FY11 EPS to range between $8.75-9.50 vs. analyst estimates at 8.61. Institutional investors currently own 62,804,267 shares vs. 61,298,786 shares held three months ago (+2.46% change). Short float at 30.06%, which implies a short ratio of 9.38 days. The stock has lost -1.98% over the last year.
9. Actuant Corporation (ATU): Diversified Machinery Industry. Market cap of $1.82B. Recently guided FY11 EPS to range between $1.45-1.60 vs. analyst estimates at 1.43. Institutional investors currently own 68,483,442 shares vs. 67,275,774 shares held three months ago (+1.8% change). Short float at 13.76%, which implies a short ratio of 11.35 days. The stock has gained 41.22% over the last year.
10. Oracle Corp. (ORCL): Application Software Industry. Market cap of $159.76B. Recently guided Q3 EPS to range between $0.48-0.50 vs. analyst estimates at 0.46. Institutional investors currently own 3,136,603,297 shares vs. 3,094,202,787 shares held three months ago (+1.37% change). Short float at 0.83%, which implies a short ratio of 1.08 days. The stock has gained 28.28% over the last year.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
