Highly ranked Casey's Retail saw its IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating jump to 96 Thursday, up from 94 the day before. The rating upgrade comes after Casey's stock climbed to a record high last month before cooling off amid the market correction.
The revised score means the stock currently tops 96% of all other stocks in terms of key performance metrics and technical strength. History shows the top market performers tend to have a 95 or higher score as they launch their major climbs.
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Casey's Hit Record High Last Month And Faded. Rising Again.
Casey's Retail, formerly known as Casey's General Stores, operates more than 2,600 convenience stores, mainly in the Midwest. Casey's broke out of a cup without handle on Feb. 13, rising to a record high 445.17.
As the market correction took hold, shares of the Des Moines, Iowa-area based company fell to a 372.08 low on March 11. It's among stocks trying to lead the charge out of the slump now. Its stock was on track Thursday for its fifth higher close in a row amid a rise in the discount retail sector. Casey's stock traded around 430 Thursday afternoon.
The stock sports an 84 EPS Rating, which means its recent quarterly and annual earnings growth is outpacing 84% of all stocks. Additionally, its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B+, according to MarketSurge, shows moderately heavy buying by institutional investors over the last 13 weeks.
Ranks No. 2 In Its Industry
The company's fundamentals are mixed. Casey's earnings over the last four quarters grew 57%, 7%, 15% and last quarter they were flat with the prior year at $2.33 per share. Revenue in its most recent quarter grew 17% to $3.9 billion.
Casey's Retail holds the No. 2 rank among its peers in the 11-stock Retail-Super/Mini Markets industry group. Sprouts Farmers Market is the top-ranked stock in the group.
This article was created automatically with Stats Perform's Wordsmith software using data and article templates supplied by Investor's Business Daily. An IBD journalist may have edited the article.
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