Although the year as a whole has been full of ups and downs, in the last 30 days the ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) has put on a strong gain of almost 4%.
The majority of investors would be delighted with that return, so you can only imagine how shareholders of the three companies below must be feeling. Their respective shares have gone nuts in the last 30 days. Here's why:
Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)
Shareholders of the Australian KFC and Sizzler restaurant operator have seen the value of their holdings rise by a whopping 27% in the last 30 days. These gains came as a result of the company's expansion into Europe through the acquisition of 11 KFC restaurants in Germany. As KFC Germany plans to more than double its footprint in the country over the next few years, Collins Food arrives in the country at an opportune time.
Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC)
This aged care operator was given a huge lift recently when the government backtracked on planned changes to the aged care funding instrument. These proposed changes will instead be replaced with a less severe cost-saving measure. Japara's share price surged on the news and it has been edging higher ever since. In the last 30 days it has climbed almost 16% and still looks reasonable value in my opinion.
Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)
The shares of this department store operator have surged higher by 24% in the last 30 days thanks largely to its first-quarter trading update which revealed a 1.6% lift in same store sales. This meant five consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth. Although I have been reasonably bearish on Myer and department stores in general, I'll happily admit that its turnaround strategy appears to be working. I'll need a couple more quarters of growth before I'll consider an investment in the company though.
