StanCorp Financial Group Inc. (SFG) is set to report its second-quarter 2014 results on Jul 23. Last quarter, the company posted a 7.32% negative earnings surprise. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors Influencing This Past Quarter
A lower Employee Benefits sale will likely weigh upon the premiums. A soft interest rate environment will also continue to hurt investment results.
To mitigate elevated claims incidence and low interest rate concerns, StanCorp continues to implement pricing actions for both new and renewed long-term disability businesses. These, in turn, may create pressure on the top line.
Earnings Whispers?
Our proven model does not conclusively show that StanCorp Financial is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: StanCorp Financial has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. That is because the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at $1.20.
Zacks Rank: StanCorp Financial carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against Sell-rated stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Everest Re Group Ltd. (RE), Earnings ESP of +3.75% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
ACE Limited (ACE), Earnings ESP of +0.89% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Unum Group (UNM), Earnings ESP of +1.15% and a Zacks Rank #3.
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