Every day, Q.ai brings you the stocks that trended throughout the previous trading periods, with up-to-date insights into why each stock turned up in investor’s portfolios (or, in some cases, back in the banks of the issuing companies). Today’s mix is a hodgepodge of what came out on top in the midweek, with companies in food production, consulting, and bizarrely, the only company that put a car on the moon driving to the forefront.

Let’s take a peek behind the curtain to see why these trending stocks… well, trended.

Q.ai runs daily factor models to get the most up-to-date reading on stocks and ETFs. Our deep-learning algorithms use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to provide an in-depth, intelligence-based look at a company – so you don’t have to do the digging yourself.

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Tyson Foods, Inc (TSN)

Tyson Foods, Inc TSN closed up 0.75% Tuesday to $80.10 per share to the tune of almost 2.2 million trades for the day. The stock is trending up 24.3% for the year at forward 12-month earnings of 14.64x.

Tyson is the world’s second-largest processor of chicken, pork, and beef, right after JBS. They’re trending this week due to a pair of unusual announcements. The first is that they’re expanding their plant-based product line into Asia Pacific – particularly Malaysia – under their First Pride brand using locally-sourced plant ingredients such as soy and wheat protein and bamboo fiber.

And secondly, the company announced Wednesday that CEO Dean Banks resigned after just eight months on the job, with 36-year company veteran Donnie King taking the reins immediately. King is Tyson’s fifth CEO in five years.

Over the last year, Tyson’s revenue ticked up 0.13% to $43.2 billion, an 8% increase over $40 billion in revenue three years ago. At the same time, operating income expanded 8.5%, and 28.6% in the last three, from $3.15 billion to $3.73 billion, while per-share earnings nudged up 3% to $5.64 in the last fiscal year. However, return on equity fell from 25.4% to 14% in the same period.

Tyson Foods is expected to see 2.25% revenue growth over the next twelve months. However, our AI rates the meat processor barely above average, with a B in Low Volatility Momentum and C’s in Technicals, Growth, and Quality Value.

GATX Corporation (GATX)

GATX Corporation GATX closed up 1.5% on Tuesday to $100.17 per share, ending the day with 106k trades on the books. Tuesday saw the stock trend up $2 over the 10-day price average and 20.4% YTD. Currently, GATX is trading at 23x forward earnings.

GATX is one of the world’s leading equipment financing companies, primarily in the railcar space. In addition to railcar operating and locomotive leasing, they also hold investments in various industrial equipment.

GATX doesn’t come up in the news often because…well, there’s not really a lot to tell. As long as the company is doing its job well, the average American is unlikely to notice – and that’s just about GATX’s best-case scenario.

Over the last fiscal year, GATX saw revenue grow 0.5% to $1.2 billion, marking a 3.45% increase over the last three years. In the same periods, operating income rose 1.3% and 3.4%, respectively, from $279 million to $285 million. However, EPS fell from $5.52 to $4.27, while return on equity dropped from 10.6% to 7.9%.

Still, GATX has nowhere to go but up after an unprecedented year that saw consumer traffic dwindle drastically, and the company’s forward 12-month revenue is expected to grow by 3.2% over the next twelve months. Our AI rates GATX Corporation B in Low Volatility Momentum and C in Technicals, Growth, and Quality Value.

Gartner, Inc (IT)

Gartner, Inc IT ticked up 0.5% on Tuesday to $233.01 with a final trade volume of 829.5k. The company is up 45.5% for the year and currently trading at 39.9 times forward earnings.

Gartner, Inc. is a global research and advisory firm that services just about every sector you can imagine. From IT and finance to legal and customer service, and a little bit of everything in between, they advise, inform, and provide tools to a wide variety of clients with a wide variety of needs. And as you can imagine, their services were more in-demand than ever during the pandemic – which saw their share prices shoot to all-time highs.

Over the last three years, Gartner’s revenue has risen 5.3%, with the pandemic period bringing in 2% gains to the tune of $4.1 billion. Operating income grew 64.4% over the last three years and 21.4% in the last fiscal twelve months, which saw Gartner rake in over $495.7 million. Per-share earnings grew even faster, a total of 197.9% growth over the last three years from $1.33 to $2.96. And ROE nearly doubled from 13.4% to 26.3% in the same period.

Looking forward, Gartner is expected to bring in an additional 2% of revenue over the next twelve months. Our AI is overall keen on Gartner’s future, rating the advisory firm A in Growth and Low Volatility Momentum, B in Quality Value, and C in Technicals.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST)

Costco Wholesale Corporation COST  nudged down 0.01% Tuesday to $378.23 on the back of 2.1 million trades, continuing a downward trend from the 10-day price average of $382.52. The stock is up 0.4% YTD and currently trades at 34.5 times forward earnings.

Costco is partly trending this week thanks to anticipation around its monthly same-store sales report for May due Thursday. Investor spirits are still riding high after its impressive Q3 2021 fiscal year report, which saw the warehouse chain’s sales leap 21.7% to $44.4 billion, with membership fee income up 10.6% to $901 million. However, EPS missed analyst consensus, which Costco attributed in part to lower gasoline sales and a $2 per hour wage premium. 

Still, consumers spent more than ever at Costco warehouses throughout the pandemic, boosting the company’s last fiscal year revenue almost 12% to $166.76 billion. This marks a 32% increase over the $141.6 billion revenue three years ago. In the same periods, operating income grew 15.4% and 55.1%, respectively, from $4.5 billion to $6 billion in a 36-month span. All told, per-share earnings are up 50% in the last three years to $9.02 per share against $7.09 per share.

Currently, the company is expected to see 4.5% growth over the next 12 months, despite its massive earnings success in the pandemic. And our AI is equally positive on that matter – among others – with Costco rating A in Technicals and Low Volatility Momentum, B in Quality Value, and C in Growth.

General Motors Company (GM)

General Motors Company GM  ticked up 0.6% on Tuesday, entering the midweek at $59.65 per share with a final trade volume of 10.4 million. The company is trending up significantly from the 22-day price average of $56.93, and overall is up 43.25% YTD. Currently, GM is trading at 11.34x forward earnings.

GM’s trending status comes as the company jumpstarts plans to reopen several plans in June that choked out due to the chip shortage. Although the company hasn’t named too many specifics yet, management notes that its supply chain and manufacturing plants are working to mitigate the shortage while still providing consumers with the cars they crave in the post-pandemic punch-up.

On a slightly less serious – although arguably more intriguing – note, GM and Lockheed LMT last week announced a joint venture to design an all-new Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) for Project Artemis. This NASA program is the U.S. government’s current push to send American astronauts back to the moon for the first time in five decades.

And GM, the maker of the one and only Lunar Terrain Vehicle in existence (albeit fifty years ago, then a joint venture with Boeing BA ) is throwing its hat in the ring. While the contract isn’t in the bag yet – NASA hasn’t even opened bidding yet – GM is clearly hoping that its status as the only company to ever successfully build a working moon buggy will grandfather it into the equation.

Fun and battery-powered buggies aside, GM’s last fiscal year wasn’t its best revenue-wise, as cash flow dropped from $147 billion three years ago to $122 billion this year. However, operating income was up 27% in the last year to $8.6 billion, while per-share earnings leaped 43% to $4.33 – though this is down from $5.53 three years ago.

But with nowhere to go but up, and a potential NASA contract to bid on soon, GM is expected to see revenue growth of 6% in the next year. Currently, our AI rates General Motors C in Growth and Quality Value and D in Technicals and Low Volatility Momentum.

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