14 Large Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
As of Monday, October 26, there are 14 Large Cap US and Canada-listed stocks in the Trefis coverage universe trading at their 52-week highs. Large Cap here means a market value above $40 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), with a market value of about $1.18 trillion, is the largest company on the list; its stock is up 8.5% over the past month and up 11.9% over the past year. By sector, Energy leads the list with 8 of the 14 names. For context, the S&P 500 is down 0.8% over the past month, including dividends.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 14 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D Return |
1W Return |
1M Return |
1Y Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRK-B | $1,182.0 Bil | 1.2% | 3.1% | 8.5% | 11.9% |
| XOM | $770.3 Bil | 0.7% | 3.5% | 14.9% | 63.7% |
| TD | $206.3 Bil | 0.6% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 59.6% |
| GILD | $197.3 Bil | 1.7% | 3.7% | 5.1% | 34.7% |
| COP | $183.7 Bil | 0.4% | 4.2% | 18.9% | 73.3% |
| CNQ | $114.5 Bil | 0.1% | 1.8% | 16.2% | 83.9% |
| SU | $93.7 Bil | 0.1% | 1.4% | 16.6% | 106.8% |
| CTAS | $90.4 Bil | 0.8% | 6.4% | 13.0% | 18.6% |
| EOG | $86.1 Bil | 0.4% | 3.8% | 17.4% | 56.3% |
| TRGP | $65.4 Bil | 0.8% | 4.1% | 9.7% | 98.5% |
Strong Prices, But How Strong Are The Businesses?
Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) trades at 13.8 times trailing earnings and grew revenue 10.4% over the last twelve months.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) trades at 23.5 times trailing earnings, grew revenue 9.6% over the last twelve months and earned an operating margin of 10.7%.
Across the list, one-month moves range from +4.6% for Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) to +20.0% for Waste Connections (WCN).
Over the past year, the median name here is up 57.3%.
9 of the 14 names are also S&P 500 members.
A new high tells you what the market already believes. The harder question is which of these runs management itself is underwriting. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks exactly that: stocks where the company raised its own forward numbers.
One more pattern worth noticing: 8 of the 14 names are Energy stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, an energy ETF like XLE, which holds 3 of the 6 largest of them, is one way to own part of the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
Strength Is A Clue. It Is Not A Plan
A stock at its 52-week high has momentum on its side, and momentum is a real force. It is also the most crowded signal in the market, and what separates a run that lasts from one that tops is usually the business underneath.
Checking that business, across thousands of names, is how the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is assembled: roughly 30 companies that pass the quality screens, rebalanced on rules. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the S&P 500, the S&P MidCap 400, and the Russell 2000. Let the highs point; let the discipline decide.