Fruits and vegetables giant Fresh Del Monte's stock performed well during the recent market turbulence. On Tuesday, the a top performer amid the IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating for Fresh Del Monte Produce shot up to a near-best 96 rating, up from 93 the day before.
The new score indicates the company is now outperforming 96% of all stocks in terms of the most important fundamental and technical stock-picking criteria. The market's biggest winners often have a 95 or higher rating in the early stages of a new price run, so that's a good starting point when looking for the best stocks to buy and watch.
Fresh Del Monte Produce is currently forming a consolidation, with a 35.27 buy point. See if the stock can break out in heavy trade at least 40% above average.
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On March 26 the 135-year-old company expanded its product portfolio, acquiring a majority stake in Uganda-based Avolio, an avocado oil producer. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed but Fresh Del Monte said in a news release that "The avocado oil industry is poised for growth — valued at approximately $1.2 billion and growing at a CAGR of 8% to 10%," according to reports.
In Q4, the company reported 4% EPS growth. The prior quarter its EPS soared 120%. Revenue growth in its most recent quarter was flat with the same quarter a year earlier, at $1.01 billion.
The company says on its website it will report Q1 2025 results the morning of April 30. Analyst consensus is that earnings will soar 81% year over year as revenue rises a mild 1% to $1.12 billion.
Fresh Del Monte stock earns an 88 EPS Rating, meaning its recent quarterly and annual earnings growth is outpacing 88% of all stocks.
Its Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B+ shows moderately heavy buying by institutional investors over the last 13 weeks, according to MarketSurge.
Fresh Del Monte Produce earns the No. 3 rank among its peers in the Food-Miscellaneous Preparation industry group. Calavo Growers is the top-ranked stock within 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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