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ICF (ICFI) Soars 3.3%: Is Further Upside Left in the Stock?

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ICF International (ICFI - Free Report) shares ended the last trading session 3.3% higher at $129.03. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 0.8% loss over the past four weeks.

The stock has recorded this price rise as the company improves due to growth in its client base across energy, environmental infrastructure, and disaster recovery businesses. This growth is driven by sustained demand from commercial energy clients.

This consulting and technology services provider is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.86 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +10.7%. Revenues are expected to be $494.1 million, up 3.3% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For ICF, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on ICFI going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

ICF is a member of the Zacks Government Services industry. One other stock in the same industry, Maximus (MMS - Free Report) , finished the last trading session 0.1% higher at $77.48. MMS has returned 8.5% over the past month.

Maximus' consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $1.39. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +3.7%. Maximus currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).


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