For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – February 16, 2010 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF), Reliance Steel (RS), NVIDIA (NVDA), Goodyear Tire (GT) and Energy Transfer Equity (ETE). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

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It Ain’t Over Yet

Historically, the best indicators of firms likely to report positive surprises are a recent history of positive surprises and rising estimates going into the report. The Zacks Rank is also a good indicator of potential surprises. While normally firms that report better-than-expected earnings rise in reaction, that has not been the case so far this quarter. Some of the companies that have these characteristics include:

Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) is expected to report EPS of $0.38, down from $1.71 per share a year ago. Last time out, CLF posted a positive surprise of 850% (OK, it was a very low base, so take that percentage with a grain of salt) and over the last month the mean estimate for its fourth quarter earnings is up 7.20%. CLF has a Zacks #1 Rank.

Reliance Steel (RS) is expected to report EPS before non-recurring items of $1.01, up from $0.90 a year ago. In the 3Q, Reliance posted a positive surprise of 26.7% and over the last month, the consensus estimate for its 4Q earnings is up an awesome 168.1%. RS is a Zacks #1 Rank stock.

NVIDIA (NVDA) is expected to earn $0.15 per share this year, up from a loss of $0.25 a year ago. In the third quarter it posted a 1333.3% positive surprise. Over the last month the mean estimate for the 4Q is up 15.0%. NVDA holds a Zacks #2 Rank.

Potential Negative Surprises

Goodyear Tire (GT) is expected to post a loss of $0.06 a share, an improvement over the $1.18 a share loss a year ago. Last time GT reported 6.38% short of expectations. For this Zacks #5 Rank stock, analysts have actually increased the estimates for this quarter over the last month by 2.44%.

Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) is expected to earn $0.46 a share this quarter, down from $0.59 last year. It disappointed by 56.3% last time out, and analysts have cut the estimate for this quarter by 4.52% over the last month. The stock holds a Zacks #5 Rank.

Dirk Van Dijk, CFA, is the Chief Equity Strategist for Zacks.com.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that “Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices.” Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +26%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 111% annually (-0.8% versus +8%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

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Contact: Dirk Van Dijk, CFA
Company: Zacks.com
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