Attesting to strength in the construction market, sector leader Atkore on Monday earned an upgrade to its Relative Strength (RS) Rating, to a lofty 92, up from 89 the prior trading session. Atkore stock was down Monday afternoon but continues to trade near its all-time high despite the market pullback.
The 92 RS Rating means that Atkore stock has outperformed 92% of all stocks in terms of price performance. The rating hike shows unusual strength because market research shows that stocks that go on to make the biggest gains tend to have an 80 or higher RS Rating at the beginning of a new run.
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Atkore Stock Holds Near-Best Ratings
Atkore makes and sells a wide variety of electrical and mechanical products for the construction and industrial markets. It has a global presence with 4,000 employs at 71 manufacturing and distribution facilities worldwide. It's growing organically and via acquisitions. In December, Atkore announced it was buying Sasco, a Canadian maker of metal framing and related products.
Among its other key ratings, Atkore carries a best-possible 99 EPS Rating, and a near-perfect 98 Composite Rating. Its B- Accumulation/Distribution Rating on an A+ to E scale shows moderately strong buying of Atkore stock by institutional investors like mutual funds and ETFs.
The Chicago area-based company recorded a 93% leap in earnings last quarter on a year-over-year basis, to $5.39 per share. Although still excellent it was down from EPS growth rates of 491%, 272% and 144% the prior three quarters. Sales growth has been very strong over the past year too. Last quarter, its revenue rose 54% to $982.6 million.
Top-Ranked In Group
Atkore stock earns the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Building-Construction Products/Miscellaneous industry group. Cornerstone Bld Brands and Griffon are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.
Atkore stock, which is on both the IBD 50 and IBD Sector Leaders screens, is not currently offering a proper buying opportunity. See if the stock goes on to build a base that could kick off a new climb.
When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength. IBD's proprietary RS Rating measures technical performance by showing how a stock's price movement over the last 52 weeks measures up against that of the other stocks in our database.
