A very strong finish on Friday led to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recording an impressive gain last week. The benchmark index climbed 1.7% over the five days to end it at 5,964.9 points.
While a large number of shares were climbing higher with the market, a few stood out with particularly strong gains.
Here's why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week:
Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL)
The Soul Patts share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 last week with an impressive 14% gain. Investors were buying the investment house's shares in the run up to the release of its full year results on Thursday. Fortunately for those investors, the company delivered a result that was in line with expectations. Soul Patts recorded a 284.3% increase in statutory profit after tax to $953 million thanks to the merger of TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPG) and Vodafone Australia. This triggered a significant one-off profit due to the revaluation of its investment to market value. This allowed the Soul Patts board to increase its dividend for the 20th year in a row.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
The Whitehaven share price wasn't far behind with a 14.1% gain last week. This appears to have been triggered by a broker note out of UBS. According to the note, the broker has retained its buy rating and lofty $2.00 price target on the coal miner's shares. It notes that Whitehaven's shares have fallen materially this year due to a decline in coal prices. However, it feels investors will be rewarded if they're patient and coal prices recover.
Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM)
The Service Stream share price was a strong performer last week and climbed 12.2% higher. Investors were buying Service Stream's shares after the Federal Government revealed plans to spend upwards of $4.5 billion to upgrade the NBN over the next three years. This could be a major positive for Service Stream as it has been generating significant revenues by supporting the rollout of the NBN in recent years.
Abacus Property Group (ASX: ABP)
The Abacus share price was on form and stormed a sizeable 11.7% higher over the period. This was despite there being no news out of the property company last week. However, with its shares down materially since the start of the year, investors may believe they are in the bargain bin now.
