The S&P/ASX 200 is up 6.1 points to 6,047 at the time of writing and these three shares are following suit – printing 52-week highs.
Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)
Shares in baby goods retailer Baby Bunting Group are at a 52-week high of $2.54 after a series of inclines from late July.
Despite its highs, Morgans has an add note on the stock with a price target of $2.78 after major competitor Babies R Us closed down after entering administration, opening up the opportunity for Baby Bunting to claim a larger share of the market.
Baby Bunting's total sales are up 9% to $303 million to kick off FY19 as gross profit rose 5.9% although statutory NPAT is down 29.1% to $8.7 million with pro forma EBITDA also down 18.9%.
The retailer maintains it spent FY18 "strengthening and consolidate" its market position but its time of reckoning is now, with little direct competition now from other retailers, Baby Bunting investors will expect exceptional sales growth and transaction volumes going forward.
Horizon Oil Ltd (ASX: HZN)
Small-cap oil and gas exploration company Horizon oil shares are at a 52-week high at 16c per share – up from just 0.05c at this time last year.
Horizon is an under-the-radar stock with just a $208 million market cap, but it has made some good inroads in the past year, with sales revenue jumping 46% higher from FY17 to US$100 million as EBITDAX also rose 52% to US$68.5 million and net cashflow from operating activities increased 62% to US$57.6 million.
While still in its exploration phase, Horizon is seeing decent progress in its PNG projects with its interests in the Beibu Gulf starting to meet production goals.
It's part of a tough industry, no doubt, but Horizon looks poised to fire up in the near future and is one to keep on the watchlist for sure.
Collins Food Ltd (ASX: CKF)
Restaurant operator Collins Foods shares hit a 52-week high on October 8, finishing the day's trading at $6.68 before dropping back slightly at the time of writing to $6.64.
Investors have responded well to news out of Collins it would roll out more than 50 new Taco Bell restaurants across Australia between 2019 and 2021.
Its recent AGM revealed Collins revenue had risen from $633.6 million in FY17 to $770.9 million for FY18 with underlying EBIT and NPAT also rising as Collins worked to increase its footprint by acquiring more businesses to up its restaurant count.
Collins is also hard at work overseas, acquiring 16 KFC restaurants in the Netherlands with an investor presentation this month revealing Collins had managed to improve its operating cash flow by 80% in the last five years as its dividend payments rose 125%.
