3 Stocks That Blew the Market Away

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Every week, I take a look at a few companies that lapped their profit targets. Leaving Wall Street's pros with quizzical looks on their faces can be a good thing. It usually means that the companies have more in the tank than analysts figured, and capital appreciation often follows.

Let's take a look at a few companies that humbled the prognosticators this past week.

We can start with Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ). It's no longer a turnaround at the computing and printing titan. Prosperity has silenced the critics. Hewlett-Packard earned $0.86 a share in its fiscal fourth quarter, well ahead of the $0.69 per share it earned a year earlier and the $0.82 that analysts were expecting.

The company has now blown past the market's profit targets in each of the past 13 quarters. Hewlett-Packard and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) may have little in common in their approach to personal computing, but both bellwethers have been trouncing Wall Street's estimates for several years now.

Hastings Entertainment (Nasdaq: HAST) is another topper. The media retailer surprised investors with a profit during the typically deficit-riddled third quarter. Posting net income of $0.01 a share isn't much, but it's huge when the pros are settling for a loss of $0.12 a share. Hastings sells DVDs, CDs, and consumer electronics. It also rents DVDs, often prompting comparisons to Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) and Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI).

However, Hastings has been doing well despite slowdowns in music sales and video rentals. The relative success found me recommending the stock in my "8 Hot Stocks Under $8" article this summer (read up on the other seven picks here).

Finally, we have Deere (NYSE: DE) mowing down the bean-counters. The agricultural machinery giant earned $1.88 a share in its fiscal fourth quarter. Wall Street was looking for net income to clock in at just $1.55 per share. This may be a cyclical business, but Deere has handily lapped profit targets for nine consecutive quarters.

So, keep watching the companies that lap expectations. Over time, it will be a rewarding experience for investors as the market rewards the overachievers. That's the kind of surprise we look for in the Motley Fool Rule Breakers newsletter service. Want in? Check out a 30-day trial subscription for free.

Either way, come back next Monday to learn about more stocks that blew the market away.