Aegion Corporation AEGN is set to report first-quarter 2016 results on May 2, after the market closes. Aegion posted a year-over-year decline in both earnings and sales in the fourth quarter of 2015. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively show that Aegion 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. Unfortunately, that is not the case here as elaborated below:Zacks ESP: Aegion has an Earnings ESP of -12.50%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at 7 cents while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged higher at 8 cents.Zacks Rank: Though Aegion’s Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of ESP, the company’s negative ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.Surprise History Last quarter, Aegion posted a positive earnings surprise of 2.86%. Notably, the company has delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 0.86% over the trailing four quarters.Factors to ConsiderAegion expects earnings in the first quarter of 2016 to be lower year over year given that it is seasonally the lowest in terms of earnings generation. Corrosion Protection will be the worst hit due to a difficult market in Canada, limited workable backlog for a Bayou pipe coatings facility in Louisiana, and persistently weak market conditions for United Pipeline, a subsidiary within the segment. This will have a negative impact of 7–9 cents per share on first-quarter earnings.Stocks to ConsiderHere are some companies in the construction sector that can be considered as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:Trex Co. Inc. TREX with an Earnings ESP of +1.54% and a Zacks Rank #2.AECOM ACM with an Earnings ESP of +4.17 and a Zacks Rank #3.Aspen Aerogels, Inc. ASPN with an Earnings ESP of +20.00% and a Zacks Rank #3.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report TREX COMPANY (TREX): Free Stock Analysis Report ASPEN AEROGELS (ASPN): Free Stock Analysis Report AECOM TECH CORP (ACM): Free Stock Analysis Report AEGION CORP (AEGN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research