Here are four of the highest gainers of the past week amongst Australia's S&P ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
Mount Gibson Iron (ASX: MGX) was up a stunning 13% in the past five days to $0.98. Setting a new high at $0.995, iron ore production volumes were up 13% over the previous quarter at 2.6 million tonnes. With iron ore spot prices around $133.70/tonne, higher volumes mean more potential earnings. Having paid down its long-term debt from $25 million to $9.2 million, it still has about $420 million in cash and term deposits, which could be put towards further mine expansion and development.
Atlas Iron (ASX: AGO) came in just behind as #2 with a 12% gain to $1.14. It also has been raising its production, setting a new quarterly record at 2.4 million tonnes in the September quarter, and forecasting between 9-10 million tonnes for the year. It is planning to develop two shipping berth spaces at Port Hedland with Brockman Mining in a joint venture that will have the capacity for 50 million tonnes.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises (ASX: DMP) set a new all-time high of $16.28, finishing up 6% for the week at $16.20. Since early June, its share price has been rising in a parabolic way after gapping up upon the news that it was buying a 75% stake in Domino's Pizza Japan, which currently has about 250 stores there. Just last week three of the directors, including CEO Don Meij, sold off some of their shares, taking advantage of the higher share prices.
Australand Property Group (ASX: ALZ) tied for third place with a 6% rise, closing at $3.95. The rising housing market is propelling the company. The Sydney and Melbourne markets are heating up, with Perth and Brisbane improving. In the last three quarters, its residential division has already achieved 90% of last year's full year target, yet its office and industrial division still hasn't moved greatly.
Foolish takeaway
The ASX 200 includes companies that are much smaller than those in the ASX 100, but with the smaller size comes the bigger potential to grow and rise in share price. A healthy portfolio should be diversified not only according to industry, but should also have a good mix of stalwarts and small, yet fast, growers.
