It is natural to feel excited when a stock hits a new high.
There could be two reasons at play.
The first is that the company’s fundamentals are strong and the business is reporting better profits and/or dividends.
The second reason could just be a surge in positive sentiment that sends the stock price shooting up without any underlying reason.
When scouting around for potential investment ideas, you want to ensure that it is the first reason and not the second.
Here are four stocks that recently hit their 52-week highs.
These businesses could make good candidates for your buy watchlist if they pass muster.
Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SGX: OV8)
Sheng Siong is one of the largest supermarket operators in Singapore with a total of 67 outlets across the island.
The group also offers more than 1,500 products across various categories such as food and essentials under its 23 house brands.
The retailer’s share price recently hit a 52-week high of S$1.73 and is up 11.8% in the past year.
Sheng Siong reported a mixed set of results for 2022 with revenue dipping by 2.2% year on year to S$1.3 billion.
Net profit, however, managed to eke out a small 0.4% year on year rise to S$133.6 million.
The supermarket operator also paid out a final dividend of S$0.0307, bringing 2022’s dividend to S$0.0622.
Sheng Siong intends to continue growing through new store openings, and with HDB’s plans to release almost 10,000 flats in 10 different projects, there are ample opportunities for the group to bid for new shop spaces in the coming quarters.
Genting Singapore (SGX: G13)
Genting Singapore is the owner and operator of the integrated resort (IR) at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
The IR boasts six hotels with around 1,600 hotel rooms, a casino, one of the world’s largest aquariums, and a theme park Universal Studios Singapore.
Genting’s share price has been on a tear, shooting up 44% in a year and recently touching a 52-week high of S$1.19.
The blue-chip IR operator reported a sparkling set of earnings for 2022 as travel and tourism experienced a sharp rebound.
Revenue surged 62% year on year to S$1.7 billion while operating profit doubled year on year to S$456.4 million.
Net profit improved by 85% year on year to S$340.1 million.
The final dividend doubled year on year from S$0.01 to S$0.02.
Investors can look forward to better numbers this year as China’s reopening should allow more Chinese tourists to visit the IR.
Festive Hotel will also complete its renovations in May 2023 and be re-launched as a lifestyle destination hotel.
The revamped hotel will add 389 rooms to RWS’ inventory of hotel rooms.
Sembcorp Industries Ltd (SGX: U96)
Sembcorp Industries Ltd, or SCI, is an energy and urban solutions provider with a balanced energy portfolio of 16.7 GW and a project portfolio spanning 12,000 hectares of land across Asia.
Shares of the utility giant have surged 51.1% in just a year, touching a 52-week high of S$4.43 before settling at S$4.29.
SCI reported a strong set of earnings for 2022 and also declared a special dividend of S$0.04, bringing 2022’s total dividend to S$0.12.
Management has done a great job of growing the group’s renewables division, with gross renewables capacity hitting 9.8 GW as of 31 December 2022, very close to its target of 10 GW at the end of 2025.
SCI is going from strength to strength, with its renewables unit being awarded its first greenfield renewables project in the Middle East recently.
The group, along with a joint venture company in Vietnam, also signed memoranda of understanding with leaders of nine provinces to develop smart and sustainable industrial parks.
PropNex Ltd (SGX: OYY)
PropNex is an integrated real estate services group with 11,902 sales professionals as of 17 February 2023.
The group has a presence not only in Singapore’s residential market but also in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Australia.
Shares of the real estate brokerage have touched a 52-week high of S$1.98 and are up 6.5% in the past year and almost 57% from its low of S$1.25 in October 2022.
The group reported a steady set of earnings for 2022 with revenue rising 7.5% year on year to S$1.03 billion.
Net profit edged up just 0.3% year on year to S$65.4 million.
Investors may be buoyed by PropNex’s announcement of a one-for-one bonus issue to increase the accessibility of its shares to investors and improve trading liquidity.
Income investors should also be pleased with the S$0.135 in dividends that the group paid out for 2022, which gives its shares a trailing dividend yield of 6.9%.
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Disclosure: Royston Yang does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.
