Increased spending on consumer goods is key to economic growth and employment, so it follows that seeing which big companies analysts feel bullish about provides direction as to where spending -- and possibly job growth -- is most concentrated.

With that in mind, we ran a screen on the consumer goods sector for names reporting quarterly earnings next week. We then screened for the largest names with net short covering month over month.

Quarterly earnings reports can be big movers for stock prices. When a company fails to meet the market's expectations, its stock will usually drop to discount in the new information. If earnings exceed expectations, a higher stock price will usually be the reward.

Because short-sellers have been covering their positions (a sign they believe the company has more upside than downside to price in), we can infer that the financial community is feeling good about their earning prospects. 

Business section: Investing ideas
But what do you think? From the four names below, what can you infer about the sector's growth? (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)

1. Jarden (NYSE: JAH): Distributes a range of consumer products worldwide. The company reports on April 25. Shares shorted have decreased from 4.46 million to 3.3 million over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.36% of the company's float of 85.32 million shares.

2. Brunswick (NYSE: BC): Provides recreation products worldwide. The company reports on April 26. Shares shorted have decreased from 7.41 million to 5.88 million over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.73% of the company's float of 88.64 million shares.

3. Revlon (NYSE: REV): Engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of cosmetics, women's hair color, beauty tools, anti-perspirants/deodorants, fragrances, skincare, and other beauty care products. The company reports on April 26. Shares shorted have decreased from 440,390 to 346,380 over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.41% of the company's float of 6.69 million shares

4. Libbey (NYSE: LBY): Engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and supply of tableware products primarily in North America, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. The company reports on April 27. Shares shorted have decreased from 828,390 to 590,160 over the last month, a decrease which represents about 1.21% of the company's float of 19.64 million shares.

Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.