The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Sun Life Financial, EOG Resources, NortonLifeLock and Magna International

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 7, 2020 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Sun Life Financial Inc. SLF, EOG Resources, Inc. EOG, NortonLifeLock Inc. NLOK and Magna International Inc. MGA.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Top 4 Large-Cap Stocks Ahead of Earnings This Week

The coronavirus-stricken second-quarter 2020 earnings season is rather disappointing so far. This was in line with expectations as lockdowns were imposed for most of last quarter.

However, expectations for second-quarter earnings as a whole, have improved to some extent than they were at the beginning of the reporting cycle. Meanwhile, four large-cap (market capital > $10 billion) companies are set to beat earnings estimates this week.

Q2 Earnings Expectations Improve to Some Extent

As of Aug 5, 385 S&P 500 members reported second-quarter 2020 earnings results. Total earnings of these companies are down 35% from the same period last year on 10.8% lower revenues. Of the total, 80.5% surpassed EPS estimates and 63.6% outpaced revenue estimates.

Overall, second-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 Index are projected to be down 34.9% year over year on 9.3% lower revenues. This is an improvement over a year-over-year decline of 44.8% in earnings on 10.7% lower revenues. Notably, first-quarter earnings of companies on the S&P 500 Index were down 13.5% on 1.4% higher revenues. (Read More: Earnings Estimates Are Going Up)

Our Top Picks

We have narrowed down our search to four large-cap stocks slated to report earnings results this week. Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and has a positive Earnings ESP. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Our research shows that for stocks with the combination of a Zacks Rank #3 or better and a positive Earnings ESP, the chance of an earnings beat is as high as 70%. These stocks are expected to soar after earnings release. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Sun Life Financial is a financial services company providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate clients worldwide. It operates through five segments: Sun Life Financial Canada, Sun Life Financial United States, Sun Life Financial Asset Management, Sun Life Financial Asia and Corporate. The company has an Earnings ESP of +1.22%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sun Life Financial's current-year earnings has improved 2.4% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.6%, on average. The company will release its earnings report on Aug 6, after the closing bell.

EOG Resources explores, develops, produces and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids.. The company has an Earnings ESP of +21.99%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EOG Resources' current-year earnings has improved more than 100% over the last 30 days. The company will release earnings on Aug 6, after the closing bell.

NortonLifeLock is one of the leading providers of cyber security solutions. It is known for some of the popular brands in security and utilities, including Norton Anti-Virus, Norton Internet Security and Norton System Works. The company has an Earnings ESP of +2.67% for first-quarter fiscal 2021.

NortonLifeLock has an expected earnings growth rate of 22.2% for the current year (ending March 2021). It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 56.7%, on average. The company will release its earnings report on Aug 6, after the closing bell.

Magna International designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. It operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles. The company has an Earnings ESP of +19.81%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Magna International's current-year earnings has improved 0.9% over the last 30 days. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.6%, on average. The company will release its earnings report on Aug 7, before the opening bell.

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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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EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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