53 Mid Cap Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
Strength in the market was concentrated in specific sectors, raising questions about the foundation of these new highs.
On Thursday, strength was narrow and deep in specific sectors. Regional Banks placed 12 names on the 52-week-high list, leading a group of 53 Mid Cap stocks at their strongest price of the year. The largest company on the list is M&T Bank (MTB), with a market value of about $37.9 billion.
This cluster of highs is notable when the S&P 500 has returned -0.5% over the last month. The central question is whether these valuations are supported by underlying business growth. Below are the names making the list.
The Ten Largest At New Highs
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The table below shows the 10 largest of the 53 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTB | $37.9 Bil | 2.2% | 6.8% | 12.4% | 32.6% |
| EXR | $31.7 Bil | 3.9% | 5.4% | 2.5% | 6.3% |
| CFG | $31.6 Bil | 4.6% | 6.5% | 11.6% | 64.5% |
| EIX | $30.0 Bil | 1.8% | 4.6% | 9.5% | 63.3% |
| FTS | $29.8 Bil | 2.0% | 2.7% | 2.5% | 29.0% |
| PBA | $29.6 Bil | 1.3% | 6.3% | 6.8% | 43.9% |
| ES | $28.2 Bil | 1.7% | 1.5% | 8.3% | 21.3% |
| JBHT | $28.2 Bil | 8.0% | 5.6% | 5.4% | 102.4% |
| RF | $28.0 Bil | 2.9% | 6.0% | 13.3% | 40.2% |
| KEY | $26.0 Bil | 2.0% | 3.9% | 7.0% | 39.8% |
Is every new high built the same?
Consider the contrast between two names here. Extra Space Storage (EXR) trades at 33.6 times trailing earnings, a steep multiple for a company whose revenue grew 4.2% over the last twelve months. It does, however, run a business with a 44.0% operating margin.
Meanwhile, Edison International (EIX) from the Electric Utilities group trades at just 8.0 times trailing earnings. That lower multiple is paired with revenue growth of 13.1% over the last twelve months and a 21.2% operating margin.
A 52-week high is a starting point, not a conclusion.
A list of stocks at their strongest price of the year is a useful screen for what is working in the market. Strength often persists, and these are companies that have clearly found favor.
But a price is not a verdict on a business. The disciplined next step is to ask whether the fundamentals, the sales growth, the margins, the earnings, justify the new, higher valuation. The work begins, it does not end, at the high.
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.
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 the difference between a run that lasts and one that tops is always 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 all major indices – the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000. Let the highs point; let the discipline decide.