As the pandemic begins to recede and the economy starts to open up, industries need more metals to make products. And President Joe Biden has said that shoring up America's infrastructure is a top priority of his administration. As a result, metals are in demand, and miners have risen to near the top of industry groups. Among them is top-ranked BHP Billiton, whose Composite Rating jumped to a best-possible 99 on Wednesday. The company's stock gapped up more than 7% on Tuesday after the company reported better than expected earnings results.
Its 99 Composite Rating puts BHP in a select group of top performing stocks.
Other Ratings For BHP
The Composite Rating contains a mix of five other IBD stock ratings. The EPS, Relative Price Strength, Accumulation/Distribution, Sales+Margins+ROE and Industry Group Rating all come together.
Additionally, its Relative Strength Rating rose to 72 Wednesday, up from 69. The 72 RS Rating means that BHP Billiton is outperforming 72% of all stocks, regardless of industry group.
Stocks that go on to make the biggest gains tend to have an RS Rating north of 80 in the early stages of their moves. See if BHP Billiton can continue to show renewed price strength and hit that benchmark.
The Australian global mining giant is in the Mining-Metal Ores group, which ranks a lofty No. 8 on IBD's list of 197 industries.
In addition to a rising RS Rating, BHP has a 92 EPS Rating. That reflects strong profit growth in recent quarters and long term.
Meanwhile, the mining giant carries a B Accumulation/Rating, on an A+ to E scale with A+ best. The B A/D Rating means that institutional investors are moderately buying its shares.
Double-Digit Sales, Profit Growth
In terms of fundamentals, on Tuesday the company reported 16% earnings growth for the six months ended Dec. 31, to $1.19 a share. Sales increased 15% to a record $12.8 billion.
The company holds the No. 1 rank among its peers in the Mining-Metal Ores industry group.
See How IBD Helps You Make More Money In Stocks
BHP Billiton shares continued to rise Wednesday, closing at 75.57, up fractionally for the day.
The stock's relative strength line, which compares a stock's performance vs. the S&P 500 composite, is in new high ground, which is a bullish indicator of market leadership.
When looking for the best stocks to buy and watch, one factor to watch closely is relative price strength.
IBD's proprietary rating tracks share price movement with a 1 (worst) to 99 (best) score. The score shows how a stock's price behavior over the last 52 weeks stacks up against all the other stocks in our database.
