Performance Food Group stock shot up in a hockey-stick shape pattern since mid-October, climbing 24% in about seven weeks. It's in a buy zone after topping an entry point at the end of November. On Wednesday, Performance Food stock got a Relative Strength Rating upgrade from 80 to 85, clearing a benchmark for top-performing stocks.
The upgraded 85 RS Rating puts Performance Food stock in the top 15% of all stocks for price performance over the last year. The best stocks typically have an RS Rating of at least 80 as they launch their biggest climbs. It is one of the largest food distributors in the U.S. and delivers thousands of different products to supermarkets and other outlets via 150 distribution centers.
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Performance Food A Favorite Of Big Funds
Among its other significant ratings Richmond, Va.-based Performance Food has a middling 69 Composite Rating. It has a less-than-ideal 46 Earnings Per Share Rating.
Where it excels is in the interest among big money funds like ETFs and mutual funds. It boasts a B+ Accumulation/Distribution Rating on an A+ to E scale with A+ excellent and E the worst. A B+ rating shows that funds are fairly heavy buyers of Performance Food stock.
Performance Food Group is in a buy zone after clearing a 64.34 entry in a consolidation. It's important to note that, for CAN SLIM investors, once a stock moves 5% or more beyond the initial entry, it's considered out of a proper buying area. The buy zone for Performance Food stock extends to 67.56. Wednesday afternoon its stock traded just above 65, down for the day.
Profitable Every Quarter Though Growth Slowed
The company posted 6% earnings growth in the latest quarterly report, to $1.15 per share. Sales edged up 1% to $14.9 billion. The prior three periods the company reported EPS grew 46%, 63% and then 7%. Look for revenue and earnings growth to accelerate in the current quarter.
Performance Food stock holds the No. 2 rank among its peers in the 10-stock Wholesale-Food industry group. Smaller rival US Foods is No. 1 in the group and Sysco is No. 3 among the group's highest-rated stocks.
When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength.
This unique IBD Relative Strength Rating measures market leadership by showing how a stock's price action over the last 52 weeks compares to that of other stocks on the major indexes.
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