What a start to March it has been for shareholders in Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) with the bank's share price touching a new all-time high of $38.61 during Monday's trading session.
Westpac's record comes on the back of a rallying S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) which is once again nearing the psychologically important 6,000 level. The index gained 0.5% on Monday to finish at 5,959 and with the US market closing over 0.6% higher overnight the index looks set to make another attempt at 6,000 today.
Westpac wasn't the only company hitting a fresh high on Monday with a number of other leading ASX stocks also rallying to new all-time highs.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) touched $93.15 and has now gained 27% over the past 52 weeks.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) rallied as high as $37.04 bringing the pizza maker's one-year gains to a staggering 78%.
Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) jumped to $68.36 before closing the session at $67.42. The leading operator of private hospitals has provided 40% share price appreciation to shareholders in the last 12 months.
It's certainly been a superb year for investors in many of Australia's leading blue-chip companies, however, the rally must surely have some investors questioning the outlook for further gains from here.
Looking out over the next couple of years, it's possible that Westpac will struggle to outperform its 'Big Four' banking peer group. With many investors buying bank stocks for their dividend yields, on a comparative basis, the run-up in Westpac's share price has made the stock less attractive compared with its peers. Arguably, it could be time for investors to consider switching into one of the relatively less-expensive banks should they wish to maximise their portfolio's potential return.
