Agricultural equipment maker AGCO has put up some pretty good numbers the last couple of quarters. It also recently completed a cup-with-handle pattern, which is sometimes prelude to a breakout, although there's been no movement yet. On Tuesday, the Relative Strength (RS) Rating for AGCO stock climbed from 65 to 71.
The upgraded 71 RS Rating means that AGCO stock outperformed 71% of all stocks for price performance over the past 12 months. It's a welcome improvement but doesn't reflect the company's underlying strength. Its other ratings do.
AGCO Stock Rating Near Perfect
Among its other ratings, Seguin, Texas-based AGCO, outside of San Antonio, boasts a near-perfect 98 Earnings Per Share Rating out of 99. That's based on strong profit growth the past three years, with emphasis on the two most recent quarters. It also carries an 86 Composite Rating.
The IBD Composite Rating helps investors easily measure the quality of a stock's fundamental and technical metrics. It's a few points away from top-notch. The best stocks to buy and watch have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
The only yellow flag is its E Accumulation/Distribution Rating on an A+ to E scale. The E rating shows that big money investors aren't on board yet and are selling more shares than buying.
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AGCO stock is not currently near a potential buy zone. See if the stock goes on to form a chart pattern that could spark a new run. On Tuesday, AGCO dipped 1.9% in sync with the market pullback.
Rising EPS Growth And Revenue Growth
In terms of revenue and profits, the company has posted rising EPS growth for the last two quarters. Last quarter, earnings surged 45% to $4.47, up from 32% growth the prior quarter. Sales gains have also risen over the same time frame. Last quarter revenue grew 24% year over year to $3.899 billion, up from 15% growth the prior stanza. AGCO says on its website it will report first quarter results the morning of May 2.
AGCO stock holds the No. 3 rank among its peers in the Machinery-Farm industry group. Industry behemoth Deere and small-cap equipment maker Alamo Group are also among the group's highest-rated stocks.
IBD's proprietary RS Rating tracks technical performance by showing how a stock's price action over the last 52 weeks compares to that of the other stocks in our database.
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