Iron Mountain Inc. stock rises Friday, outperforms market

Shares of VF Corp. rose 1.09% on a favorable trading session, but closed $25.37 below its 52-week high, underperforming compared to its competitors.

The article mentions Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) as the stock that the author believes has fortified their portfolio. The author's recommendation is to hold the stock. The key information and data mentioned in the article about Iron Mountain Incorporated include the following: - The company has lowered its leverage ratio over the past four years, indicating progress in repaying debt and becoming more competitive. - Iron Mountain has frozen its quarterly dividend per share for the past four years but recently increased it by 5.1%. - The company's adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share payout ratio has decreased from 81% in 2019 to 65.1% in 2022, and it is expected to be 63.4% in 2023, which is within the company's target payout ratio. - Iron Mountain's total revenue increased by 5.3% year-over-year in the second quarter, with storage rental revenue growing at a double-digit rate. - The company's AFFO per share increased by 1.1% in the second quarter, surpassing management's expectations. - Risks to consider include the impact of a recession on rent collection and the competitive landscape in the data center industry. - Two valuation models, the discounted cash flows (DCF) model and the dividend discount model (DDM), suggest that Iron Mountain's shares are trading slightly below fair value or at a premium, respectively. The author suggests putting Iron Mountain Incorporated on the watchlist and rates the stock as a hold until it dips below $60 again.

Shares of Alphabet Inc. Cl A rose 1.01% to $136.71 on a mixed trading session, closing $1.29 below its 52-week high, while underperforming compared to competitors like Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta Platforms.