Sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Agnico Eagle Mines AEM and Matson MATX are two stocks that stand out after impressively exceeding their third-quarter earnings expectations on Wednesday.
Furthemore, Agnico and Matson were already benefiting from a compelling trend of positive earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2024 and FY25 which should continue.
Gold Mining Leader – AEM Stock
Headquartered in Canada, gold producer and mine operator Agnico posted Q3 EPS of $1.14 which skyrocketed from $0.44 a share in the comparative quarter and beat expectations of $0.98 per share by 16%.
This came on sales of $2.15 billion, a 31% increase from $1.64 billion in Q3 2023 and an 18% top line beat with estimates at $1.82 billion. Agnico has taken advantage of the cost of gold which is near multi-year highs of over $2,700 per ounce. To that point, Agnico achieved record free cash flow during Q3 while strengthening its balance sheet by lowering its debt as well.
Considering Agnico’s improved operational efficiency it’s also noteworthy that the Zacks Mining-Gold Industry is currently in the top 4% of over 250 Zacks industries.
Transportation Services Leader – MATX Stock
Operating as an international ocean transportation and logistics company, Matson’s Q3 earnings of $5.89 per share beat EPS estimates of $4.98 by 18%. More impressive, Matson’s bottom line stretched 73% from $3.40 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Amid increased demand particularly in services to and from China, higher freight rates gave Matson a nice profitability boost although Q3 sales of $962 million missed estimates by -1%. That said, Matson’s top line increased 16% from $827.5 million in Q3 2023.
AEM & MATX Performance
Thanks to their strengthening earnings outlook, Agnico and Matson’s stock have soared +56% and +39% in 2024 respectively. Noticeably outperforming the S&P 500 this year, AEM and MATX are now up over +100% in the last two years to impressively top the benchmark’s +53%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Bottom Line
Alluding to the notion that these highly ranked stocks may keep outperforming the broader market is that AEM and MATX still trade at pleasant discounts to the S&P 500’s 22.4X forward earnings multiple. With earnings estimates likely to stay on an upward trend following their favorable Q3 results, it wouldn’t be surprising if the YTD rally in Agnico Eagle Mines and Matson’s stock continues.
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Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners Up
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Matson, Inc. (MATX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
