Zacks.com featured highlights: Marriott Vacations Worldwide, Mobile Mini, Belden, First Defiance Financial and First Midwest Bancorp

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 26, 2016 - Stocks in this week's article include: Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. VAC, Mobile Mini Inc. MINI, Belden Inc. BDC, First Defiance Financial ( FDEF) and First Midwest Bancorp Inc. FMBI.

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

5 Strong Buy Stocks with Solid Earnings Growth

Consider a company's revenues over a given period of time, subtract the cost of production and you have earnings. In simple terms, it is how much money a company generates. If the company doesn't make money then it won't survive over the long haul. This is the reason why securing earnings growth on a year-over-year basis is the highest priority among the top brass of any organization, be it a fledgling company or an established corporation.

This metric is also considered to be the most significant variable in influencing the share price. Better-than-expected earnings performances generally lead to a jump in the share price. In addition to actual earnings, expectations of earnings also play a significant role in influencing the share price.

How does Earnings Estimates Impact Share Prices?

Earnings estimates are a valuable tool for investors while deciding whether or not to buy a stock. This is because a stock price has been seen to decline despite earnings growth or for that matter a stock price has even surged following an earnings decline. This happens because of missing or beating estimates. So, what does earnings estimates embody?

It includes analysts' opinions of factors such as sales growth, product demand, competitive industry environment, profit margins, expenses and cost control. Earnings estimates also help an analyst to use cash flow analysis to determine the fair value of a firm.

As we are in the thick of the earnings season, this is the right time to look at stocks that have historical earnings growth and also whose quarterly and annual earnings estimates are on the rise.

The Winning Strategy

In order to shortlist stocks that have striking earnings growth and positive estimate revisions, we added the following parameters:

Zacks Rank less than or equal to 1 (Only Zacks' 'Strong Buys' allowed. With the Zacks Rank proving itself to be one of the best rating systems out there, this is a great way to start things off.)

5-Year Historical EPS Growth (%) greater than X-Industry. (Stocks that possess strong EPS growth history.)

% Change EPS F(0)/F(-1) greater than or equal to 5 (Companies that witnessed year-over-year earnings growth rate of 5% or more in the last reported fiscal year.)

% Change Q1 Estimates over the last 4 weeks greater than zero (Stocks that have seen their current quarter earnings estimates revised higher in the last 4 weeks.)

% Change F1 Estimates over the last 1 week greater than zero (Stocks that have seen their annual earnings estimates revised higher in the last 1 week.)

% Change F1 Estimates over the last 4 weeks greater than zero (Stocks that have seen their annual earnings estimates revised higher in the last 4 weeks.)

The above criteria narrowed down the universe of around 7,735 stocks to only 7. Here are the top 5 stocks:

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. (VAC) is a developer, marketer, seller and manager of vacation ownership and related products under the Marriott Vacation Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands. The company has expected earnings growth of 26.2% for the current year.

Mobile Mini Inc. (MINI) is a provider of portable storage solutions in the United States. The company has expected earnings growth of 10.2% for the current year.

Belden Inc. (BDC) designs, manufactures and markets signal transmission solutions worldwide. The company has expected earnings growth of 13.1% for the current year.

First Defiance Financial (FDEF) is a unitary thrift holding company that focuses on traditional banking and property and casualty, life and group health insurance products. The company has expected earnings growth of 12.1% for the current year.

First Midwest Bancorp Inc. (FMBI) operates as a bank holding company for First Midwest Bank that provides various banking products and services. The company has expected earnings growth of 8.4% for the current year.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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