PepsiCo Stock Shows Market Leadership, Earns Key Rating Hike; Shares At All-Time High

Snacks and beverages are a key component of holiday celebrations, so it's no surprise that top-ranked PepsiCo stock hit a fresh all-time high Monday. This steady Eddie company hasn't missed a beat in the past year, with sales and profits growing every quarter, despite the pandemic. When building a watchlist, stocks with an 80 or higher Relative Strength Rating are prime targets. PepsiCo now meets that criteria, with an increase to 83 Monday, up from 78 the day before.

The new 83 RS Rating means that PepsiCo stock has outperformed 83% of all stocks over the past year. It's a significant number because market research shows that the biggest stock market winners tend to have an 80 or higher RS Rating as they begin their biggest price moves.

PepsiCo Stock Up 54% From Covid Crash Low

PepsiCo stock was up about 1% Monday midday, at 166.54. It's up about 54% from its coronavirus crash low 101.42 set in late March 2020.

In addition to its namesake line of beverages, food giant PepsiCo makes Lay's potato chips, Quaker Oats, Sabra brand hummus and a host of other products.

Among other key ratings, PepsiCo stock has a decent 78 Composite Rating. Look for that composite of five other ratings to continue improving. Ideally, CAN SLIM investors would like to see a 90 or better Composite. Its 68 EPS Rating reflects consistent but low percentage profit growth, which is to be expected in a large company like PepsiCo.

PepsiCo posted 8% earnings growth in the latest quarterly report, to $1.79 per share. Sales grew 12% to $20.2 billion.

While PepsiCo stock is not near a proper buying range right now, see if it goes on to form and break out of a proper chart pattern. such as a three-weeks tight, or a bounce off its 50-day or 10-week line.

No. 1 Ranked In Packaged Foods Group

PepsiCo stock holds the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Food-Packaged industry group. Twinkies maker Hostess Brands and Sovos Brands, which owns various brands including Noosa yogurts and Rao's Homemade Marina, are also in the top five.

As you try to find the best stocks to buy and watch, be sure to pay attention to relative price strength.

This exclusive rating from Investor's Business Daily measures share price performance with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The grade shows how a stock's price performance over the last 52 weeks stacks up against all the other stocks in our database.