On Wednesday, Raytheon Technologies hit an important technical milestone, with its Relative Strength (RS) Rating climbing into the 90-plus percentile with an improvement to 91, a rise from 86 the day before. Raytheon stock rose fractionally Wednesday in sync with the overall market.
Like other defense contractors, Raytheon is seeing larger orders as the U.S. sends weapons to Ukraine to defend itself against the Russian invasion. And it is seeing benefit from the U.S. and global economies gradually reopening as the pandemic ebbs. But like most stocks, Raytheon stock has sputtered a bit this year amid the bear market.
Raytheon Stock Supported By Strong Profit Growth
Raytheon Technologies posted 28% earnings growth last quarter, to $1.15 per share. The prior three stanzas its EPS climbed 164%, 125% and 46%. Revenue edged up 3% in its most recent quarter to $15.7 billion.
The Waltham, Mass.-based aerospace and defense systems giant continues to put up strong profit growth numbers though. It supplies parts and systems for everything from spacesuits to fighter jets to satellites, among others. On Wednesday afternoon its stock traded at 93.23, up 0.3% for the day.
The new 91 Relative Strength Rating means that Raytheon stock tops more than 90% of all stocks in terms of price appreciation over the past year. That easily tops CAN SLIM investors' requirement. Market research shows that the stocks that go on to make the biggest gains often have an RS Rating of over 80 in the early stages of their moves.
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Among its other key ratings, Raytheon stock has an 84 Composite Rating, of 99. It carries a 70 EPS Rating, reflecting moderate growth in its profits. And its relative strength line, the blue line on IBD stock charts, is at the highest point since early 2020. The RS line compares a stock's performance vs. the S&P 500. And the number of top-rated funds that hold Raytheon stock rose from 1903 in June 2021 to 1997 in March, the latest quarter for which figures are available.
One yellow flag is its D- Accumulation/Distribution Rating, indicating that institutional investors are selling slightly more shares than buying. Look for that to improve to a C or better rating.
Shares More Than Doubled In 2 Years
Raytheon stock dropped to an intraday low 40.93 in late March 2020 amid the Covid crash. From there it more than doubled to an all-time high 106.02 in late April this year before consolidating.
Raytheon stock holds the No. 15 rank among its peers in the Aerospace/Defense industry group. Espey Manufacturing & Electronics, Heico and Hexcel are among the top 5 highly rated stocks within the group.
When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength. This proprietary rating identifies market leadership by showing how a stock's price movement over the last 52 weeks measures up against that of the other stocks in our database.
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