Marriott International has weathered the stock market storm this year better than most companies. And with more people opting to travel as the pandemic fades, its prospects look bright. On Wednesday, Marriott stock's Relative Strength (RS) Rating climbed to 72, up from 68 a day earlier. And it's the top-ranked national hotel chain in the group overall.
The new 72 RS Rating means that Marriott stock has outperformed 72% of all stocks in terms of price performance. 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 Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott can continue to rebound and hit that benchmark.
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Marriott Stock Tops Among National Hotel Chains
Among its other key ratings, Marriott stock has an 84 Composite Rating, of a best-possible 99. It carries a 78 EPS Rating and a top-notch A SMR Rating (Sales+profit Margins+Return on equity), on an A to E scale. One yellow flag is its D- Accumulation/Distribution Rating. That indicates that mutual funds and other institutional investors are not fully on board yet. Look for that to improve to a C or better.
Marriott stock plunged to a 46.56 low in late March 2020 amid the Covid market crash. It's risen steadily since then, more than tripling its price. Wednesday afternoon Marriott stock traded at 160.16, up 1.2% for the day. It's working on a double-bottom base with a 179.34 entry. See if it can break out in heavy volume.
Unusually Strong Revenue, Profit Growth
Marriott reported 128% earnings growth in its most recent report, to $1.80 per share. That's very strong growth although down from last year's post-crash surge. Its EPS rose 662%, 983% and then more than 1,000% the prior three stanzas. Sales rose 70% last quarter, to $5.34 billion. That came on the heels of 75% growth, then 105% and 81%.
Marriott stock earns the No. 2 rank among its peers in the Leisure-Lodging industry group. Small cap specialty-rental services company Target Hospitality is No. 1 and Choice Hotels International is No. 3 in the group, according to IBD Stock Checkup.
When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength.
IBD's proprietary rating measures market leadership with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The grade shows how a stock's price performance over the last 52 weeks compares to all the other stocks in our database.
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