Stocks Soar After Strong Q3 Earnings: Agnico Eagle and Matson Shine
With a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Agnico Eagle Mines AEM and Matson MATX have emerged as standout stocks after significantly exceeding third-quarter earnings expectations on Wednesday.
Additionally, both Agnico and Matson are benefiting from a trend of positive earnings estimate revisions for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, suggesting further growth ahead.
Agnico Eagle: A Gold Mining Powerhouse
Based in Canada, Agnico Eagle reported a Q3 EPS of $1.14, a substantial increase from $0.44 a share in the same quarter last year. This result also surpassed expectations of $0.98 per share by 16%.
The company achieved revenues of $2.15 billion, representing a 31% rise from $1.64 billion in Q3 2023 and exceeding estimates of $1.82 billion by 18%. Agnico took advantage of high gold prices, which are around $2,700 per ounce, contributing to record free cash flow in Q3 and a stronger balance sheet due to reduced debt levels.
Agnico’s improved efficiency is notable, especially as the Zacks Mining-Gold Industry ranks in the top 4% of over 250 Zacks sectors.
Matson: Transportation Services Leader
Matson, an international ocean transportation and logistics company, reported Q3 earnings of $5.89 per share, beating EPS estimates of $4.98 by 18%. Remarkably, this marks a 73% increase from $3.40 per share in the prior year’s quarter.
Driven by increased demand for services to and from China, higher freight rates bolstered Matson’s profitability, despite Q3 sales of $962 million falling short of estimates by 1%. However, this figure still marked a 16% increase from $827.5 million in Q3 2023.
Agnico and Matson Stock Performance
With a strengthening earnings outlook, Agnico and Matson’s stocks have surged 56% and 39% in 2024, respectively. Both have significantly outperformed the S&P 500 this year, with AEM and MATX up over 100% in the last two years, compared to the benchmark’s 53% gain.
Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
The strong performance of AEM and MATX suggests that these high-ranking stocks may continue to outperform the broader market. Both stocks are trading at appealing discounts compared to the S&P 500’s 22.4X forward earnings multiple. With earnings estimates expected to rise following their positive Q3 results, the upward trend in Agnico Eagle Mines and Matson’s stocks is likely to persist.
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Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Matson, Inc. (MATX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
