Upside Surprise: Despite Low Estimates, PPG Industries Shares Are Soaring

Date: 16 January 2007

When a company's results beat Wall Street's estimates, its stock price often enjoys a bounce higher. Just look at the performance of Alcoa Inc. (AA) on Wednesday.

A day after it kicked off earnings season with earnings per share [EPS] that blew past analyst estimates, the aluminum maker's stock gained over 5 percent by the afternoon. Digging through the Reuters Select Rising Expectations stock screen, which is designed to highlight companies with a penchant for upside surprises, chemical manufacturer PPG Industries Inc. (PPG) surfaced - although it was the only one from the basic materials segment.

The Rising Expectations screen captures candidates by screening for companies that beat analyst estimates in each of the last four quarters. Since we also want to identify companies where analysts are upbeat about earnings down the road, the consensus of analyst EPS estimates must currently stand above the level four weeks ago, and that reading must stand above the mean from another four weeks prior.

PPG was among the 29 names that recently landed on the Rising Expectations screen. No companies from the mining industry in the basic materials sector registered on this screen. (Click here for an Excel sheet comparing all the companies recently appearing on the Rising Expectations screen.)

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