Growth-oriented investors may be interested in the following small-cap stocks, as they represent businesses whose trailing 12-month earnings per share improved significantly on a year-over-year basis.
Sell-side analysts on Wall Street are also forecasting that these stocks will continue to improve their earnings over the coming years.
Sykes Enterprises Inc
The first stock to consider is Sykes Enterprises Inc (SYKE, Financial), a Tampa, Florida-based international provider of business process outsourcing services with a market capitalization of $1.65 billion.
Sykes Enterprises' trailing 12-month pro forma earnings were $2.72 per share as of the last quarter of 2020, a nearly 30% increase from trailing 12-month pro forma earnings of $2.11 per share as of the same quarter in 2019.
Wall Street sell-side analysts predict that on a year over year basis, Sykes Enterprises' EPS will increase by 9.6% to $2.96 in full-year 2021 and by 15.9% to $3.43 in full-year 2022. Over the next five years, the EPS is expected to increase by 10% on average per annum.
The share price ($41.74 as of March 1) has risen by nearly 36.27% over the past year for a 52-week range of $22.12 to $43.68.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median buy recommendation rating with an average target price of $52 per share.
Qutoutiao
The second stock to consider is Qutoutiao Inc (QTT, Financial), a Shanghai, China-based provider of light entertainment content through mobile platforms with a market capitalization of $1.02 billion.
Qutoutiao Inc saw its trailing 12-month pro forma net loss, which stood at 63 cents per share as of the third quarter of 2020, improving significantly from the net loss of $1.33 per share reported in the same quarter of 2019.
Sell-side analysts predict that Qutoutiao's bottom line result will continue to improve to a net profit of 5 cents per common share in full-year 2021, which would represent a 113.50% increase from a net loss of 37 cents per share projected for full-year 2020.
The share price ($3.84 as of March 1) has fallen by 26.84% over the past year, determining a 52-week range of $1.53 to $5.64.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median buy recommendation rating.
Cerus Corp
The third stock to consider is Cerus Corp (CERS, Financial), a Concord, California-based developer of blood systems for platelets and plasma. It markets its biomedical and surgical products under the INTERCEPT brand. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion.
Cerus saw its trailing 12-month pro forma net loss, which was 36 cents per diluted share as of the fourth quarter of 2020, improving from the net loss of 52 cents per share reported in the prior-year quarter.
Wall Street sell-side analysts predict that the net loss will decrease 8.10% to 34 cents per share in full-year 2021 and by 14.7% to 29 cents per share in full-year 2022.
The share price ($6.52 as of March 1) has risen by 27.72% over the past year for a 52-week range of $2.71 to $8.87.
On Wall Street, the stock has a median buy recommendation rating with an average target price of about $9.10 per share.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.
Read more here:
- A Trio of Stocks With High Ebitda Margin Ratios
- A Trio of Stocks With a Record of Operating Income Margin Growth
- 3 Stocks That Could Represent Bargain Opportunities
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