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Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Abbott Laboratories, Equifax and SL Green Realty

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 16, 2024 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Free Report) , Equifax (EFX - Free Report) and SL Green Realty (SLG - Free Report) .

3 Top-Rated Stocks to Watch as Earnings Approach: ABT, EFX, SLG

Big banks continue to highlight this week's earnings lineup but several stocks are standing out from various industries that are in the top 40% of over 250 Zacks industries.

Sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) here are three of these top-rated stocks that investors will want to consider as their Q3 results approach on Wednesday, October 16.

Abbott Laboratories

Industry: Medical Products

Starting with a medical standout, Abbott Laboratories stock is attractive as a provider of pharmaceutical products, diagnostic products, nutritional products, and medical devices.

Abbott's diverse healthcare offerings have fueled the company's steady growth with Q3 sales thought to be up 4% to $10.56 billion. Furthermore, Q3 earnings are expected to rise 5% to $1.20 per share with it noteworthy that Abbott has reached or exceeded the Zacks EPS Consensus for 13 consecutive quarters dating back to July of 2021.

Expecting steady top and bottom line growth in fiscal 2024 and FY25, Abbott has a generous 1.89% annual dividend yield that tops the S&P 500's 1.23% average while many of its industry peers don't offer a payout.

Equifax

Industry: Financial Transaction Services

Among the Zacks Business Services sector, Equifax is appealing as a global data, analytics, and technology company. Providing information solutions and outsourcing services, Equifax's Q3 sales are projected to spike 9% to $1.44 billion with earnings expected to be up 4% to $1.84 per share (Current QTR below).

The financial transaction services leaders' bottom line is now expected to increase 9% this year with high-double-digit EPS growth in the forecast for FY25.

Plus, the Zacks ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) suggests Equifax could surpass earnings expectations with the Most Accurate Estimate having Q3 EPS pegged at $1.88 and 2% above the Zacks Consensus. Equifax has exceeded earnings expectations in three of its last four quarterly reports posting an average EPS surprise of 3.22%.

SL Green Realty

Industry: REIT and Equity Trust-Other

Operating commercial and residential real estate properties in New York, SL Green Realty is a REIT that is worthy of consideration. SL Green's Q3 sales are slated to increase 4% to $136.66 million. Most intriguingly, SLG is starting to make the case for being undervalued at 8.9X forward earnings despite Q3 EPS expected to dip -5% to $1.20.

However, the Zacks ESP indicates SL Green could surpass Q3 earnings expectations with the Most Accurate Estimate at $1.23 and 2% above the Zacks Consensus.

Even better, SL Green's annual earnings are still projected to leap 54% in FY24 to $7.61 per share versus EPS of $4.94 in 2023. While FY25 EPS is expected to contract to $5.20 after what would be an exceptional year, SL Green's 4.42% annual dividend should keep investors engaged. The real estate office titan has beaten the Zacks EPS Consensus in two of its last four quarterly reports with an average earnings surprise of 9.98%.

Bottom Line

Ahead of their Q3 reports, Abbott Laboratories, Equifax, and SL Green Realty are three of the most intriguing stocks to watch in regards to this week's earnings lineup. These top-rated stocks should certainly have more upside if they can reach or exceed expectations and offer favorable guidance.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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