Large Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs: Friday’s Full List
Energy names are trading at yearly highs while the broader market has slipped.
Marathon Petroleum (MPC), with a market value of about $122.8 billion, has gained 17.8% over the last month to reach a new high. As of Friday, September 18, there are 3 Large Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs.
With 2 of the 3 names belonging to the Energy sector, this very short list appears while the S&P 500 has returned -0.6% over the last month. The concentration raises a question about whether this is isolated strength.
The Full List, Largest First
Here are all 3 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPC | $122.79 Bil | 0.7% | 7.3% | 17.8% | 133.9% |
| VLO | $121.5 Bil | 0.2% | 5.9% | 19.4% | 157.9% |
| NTRA | $52.93 Bil | 0.8% | 12.3% | 13.6% | 110.6% |
This screen covers US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe. Large Cap here means a market value above $40 billion.
The list’s strength is concentrated in Energy.
The two largest companies making new highs are Marathon Petroleum (MPC) and Valero Energy (VLO). Valero’s stock has gained 19.4% over the last month. Marathon Petroleum trades at 14.4 times trailing earnings, and its revenue grew 15.0% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 7.5%. Valero Energy trades at 16.8 times trailing earnings, and its revenue grew 12.6% over the last twelve months, and its operating margin was 7.2%.
A new high is a question, not an answer.
A list of stocks at their highest price of the past year is a useful screen for strength. These are companies the market is rewarding. But a price is not a verdict on a business. The disciplined next step is to examine the fundamentals. A new high should prompt an investor to ask whether the underlying business performance justifies this new valuation.
Before chasing any name on this list, ask what the company itself expects next. Our Guidance Momentum screen surfaces the stocks whose managements just raised their own outlooks.
New Highs Fade. Discipline Compounds
Some of the names on this list will keep setting highs for years, and some are at the top of their run right now. Sorting one from the other, name by name, every day, is the work most investors never keep up with.
That sorting is what the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio does systematically: about 30 quality businesses screened for the fundamentals that sustain a run, held with rules instead of excitement. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Use the high list for ideas; use the portfolio for the compounding.