Four Stocks to Trade this Week: LEN, KBH, GES, NKE

March 19, 2013, 09:45 am ET, BY Billy- Contributor| Editor: Thomas H. Kee Jr. (Follow on LinkedIn)

We are still a couple weeks away from the unofficial start of the Q1 earnings season, but there will some big name companies reporting quarterly results this week. The releases due in the coming days will provide traders with ample opportunity to profit from the action. Here are four stocks to trade this week.

Building the Foundation

Prior to the market open on Wednesday, Lennar (NYSE:LEN) is slated to announce its fiscal Q1 earnings. Analysts are calling for a 100.0% increase in EPS and a 23.9% surge in sales when compared to the prior year quarter. The stock has gained 8.0% year-to-date.

The 50-day moving average of Lennar’s stock price has held strong above its 200-day moving average during the past year. Its forward P/E of 18.5 seems a bit rich at first glance, but if the company continues to post incremental improvements in most of its key metrics as it did in its Q4, the stock will continue to run hot in the near term.

Another major homebuilder that will be reporting this week is KB Home (NYSE:KBH). The company’s stock price has been on fire and total revenue is expected to jump by 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. The company is definitely headed in the right direction, but an expected loss of $0.22 per share leaves me inclined to remain on the sidelines waiting for a pullback.

Keep ‘Em Guessing

A couple of heavy-hitters in the apparel industry will be weighing in later this week. On Wednesday after the market close, Guess (NYSE:GES) is slated to announce the results of its Q4. The consensus among analysts is that the company will post EPS of $0.87 per share versus $1.05 in the prior year quarter. Sales are expected to tick up slightly.

Getting in on Guess ahead of earnings is a sound play. The stock has put together an impressive tape and its 50-day moving average just broke above the 200-day moving average earlier this month. A beat of a penny or more has the potential to propel this stock higher and help it to continue to make up ground it has lost over the last 52 weeks.

One of the most iconic names in the space will announce its fiscal Q3 earnings after the closing bell on Thursday. Wall Street is predicting that Nike (NYSE:NKE) will check in with an 11.7% pop in EPS on a 6.6% improvement in total revenue when compared to the prior year quarter. Nike posted sizable beats in each of its last two quarters. Even with a modest beat on Thursday the stock will grind higher.

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