The World Health Organization hasn't officially declared the Covid pandemic over, but economies are opening and shipments of goods are flowing. That's lifting trucking firms like Old Dominion Freight Line, whose profits and sales growth is outstanding. On Tuesday, the Relative Strength (RS) Rating for Old Dominion stock rose to 73, up from 69 the day before.
Market research shows that the market's biggest winners typically have an RS Rating north of 80 in the early stages of their moves. See if Old Dominion Freight Line can continue to rebound and clear that threshold. However, as a famous radio commentator used to say: Now, for the rest of the story.
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Old Dominion Stock Among Top 8%
Old Dominion's other key ratings are far superior to its RS Rating. It has a terrific 98 EPS Rating, of a best-possible 99, reflecting strong profit growth in recent quarters and years. Its 92 Composite Rating puts Old Dominion stock in the top 8% of all stocks on a group of five key technical and fundamental metrics.
Additionally, it has an A SMR Rating, on an A to E scale with A tops. And the number of top-rated mutual funds that hold Old Dominion stock shares rose from 1,770 in September last year to 1,924 in June.
One yellow flag is its D- Accumulation/Distribution Rating. That means that institutional investors have sold more of its shares than bought them over the past 13 weeks. Look for that to improve to a C or better rating.
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Earnings popped 53% last quarter to $2.60 per share. The prior three quarters the Greensboro, N.C. area-based company's EPS grew 85%, 44% and then 50%. Revenue growth also increased in its most recent quarter to 33%, or $1.5 billion, up from 31% the prior quarter. The company says on its website it plans to report its latest performance numbers the morning of July 27. That's 773% growth in six years.
ODFL Forming Fresh Base?
Old Dominion stock rose from an intraday low 42.79 on July 28, 2016 to an all-time high 373.58 on Dec. 7. It's cooled lately in sync with the bear market and traded at 270.22 Tuesday afternoon, up 3.3% for the day. While now is not an ideal time to invest, see if the stock is able to offer and clear a proper buy point.
Old Dominion stock holds the No. 12 rank among its peers in the Transportation-Truck industry group. ArcBest and Covenant Logistics are among the group's highest-rated stocks.
When you're researching the best stocks to buy and watch, keep a close on eye on relative price strength.
This proprietary Relative Strength Rating measures technical performance by using a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score that shows how a stock's price action over the last 52 weeks compares to other publicly traded companies.
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