Foot Locker, Inc. (FL - Free Report) is slated to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2016 results on Feb 24. The question lingering in investors’ minds is whether this retailer of athletic shoes and apparel will be able to deliver a positive earnings surprise in the quarter to be reported. In the trailing four quarters, the company outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by an average of 2%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

What to Expect?

The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter under review is $1.31, reflecting a year-over-year increase of over 12%. We noted that the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased by a penny in the past seven days. Analysts polled by Zacks expect revenues of $2,116 million, up about 5.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Foot Locker forms part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. As per the latest Earnings Preview, total earnings for the sector are expected to decline marginally by 1.2%, however, revenue is projected to improve 4.7%. We noted that the Retail-Wholesale sector has lagged the broader market in the past three months. In the said time frame this Zacks categorized sector gained 3.7%, while S&P 500 index advanced 6.7%.

Factors at Play

Foot Locker’s stellar performance is backed by effective implementation of operational and financial initiatives. We believe that the company is likely to gain by constantly utilizing opportunities like kids’ and women’s business, shop-in-shop expansion in collaboration with its vendors, store banner.com business, store refurbishment and enhancement of assortments. Further, the company is focusing on augmenting eCommerce platform, growing direct-to-consumer operations, margin expansion and tapping underpenetrated markets. However, a competitive retail landscape, fashion obsolescence and foreign currency headwinds remain concerns.

Foot Locker, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Foot Locker, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Foot Locker, Inc. Quote

What does the Zacks Model Unveil?

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Foot Locker is likely to beat earnings estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. You may uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Foot Locker carries a Zacks Rank #3, which increases the predictive power of ESP. However, the company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at $1.31. The combination of Foot Locker’s Zacks Rank #3 and a 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.

Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +4.55% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Jack in the Box Inc. (JACK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.42% and a Zacks Rank #2.

The Home Depot, Inc. (HD - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.26% and a Zacks Rank #3.