Analysts are growing more bullish on a handful of stocks set to report quarterly results next week. Wall Street is gearing up for the beginning of the fourth-quarter earnings season, which started in earnest Friday morning when banks including Bank of America and Citigroup plus Delta Air Lines reported their latest financials. Earnings for S & P 500 companies are forecast to have increased 1.3% in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago, according to data from FactSet, while full-year earnings are expected to be little changed. CNBC screened FactSet data to find stocks reporting earnings next week that meet the following criteria: Analysts have made eight or more upward revisions over the past three months Analysts have made eight or fewer downward revisions in past three months. Financial services company State Street. Corp. made the list. The stock has seen 19 analysts polled by FactSet raise their per share earnings estimates for the company ahead of quarterly results on Jan. 19 by an average 5%. Analysts surveyed by FactSet now estimate State Street to report an adjusted $1.83 per share in the fourth-quarter. STT 1Y mountain State Street Corp. stock. Goldman Sachs recently upgraded State Street to buy from neutral, with analyst Alexander Blostein noting a potentially favorable risk-to-reward balance in coming quarters. Also on the list is paint company PPG Industries . Sixteen analysts polled by FactSet have raised their earnings per share forecasts by about 1% in the last three months, with quarterly results due Jan. 18. Analysts polled by FactSet now forecast an adjusted $1.49 per share in the fourth-quarter on revenue of $4.2 billion. PPG YTD mountain PPG Industries stock. PPG said earlier this month it plans to explore ” strategic alternatives ” for its silica business and hired Morgan Stanley as its financial advisor. Stocks also on the list include energy pipeline and terminal provider Kinder Morgan Inc. and Fastenal Company . Nine analysts polled by FactSet have raised their earnings per share estimates on Kinder Morgan in the past three months, while eight have increased their EPS outlook over the same time period on Fastenal.
