Television watchers will have noticed during their evening news that the ASX chart looks to be creeping steadily towards its high-water mark of 6,000 points again. It's a mark that's only been only been crested once, during the dizzying heights of the GFC in 2007 and early 2008.
By and large the economy looks to be in a lot more realistic shape than it was then, although the influx of money away from term deposits and into the market has inflated share valuations somewhat.
Today I'm writing about three companies who recently washed over their own high water-marks, recording prices at 52-week highs and very close to all-time highs. Despite reaching new heights, all three of them look as though they could potentially go higher yet.
Roc Oil Company Limited (ASX: ROC) – last traded at $0.63, up 16.67% in 52 weeks.
A small oil and gas explorer/producer in south east Asia, Roc Oil has seen its value shoot up in the past few months after receiving two separate takeover offers from Horizon Oil Ltd (ASX: HZN) and a second unnamed party.
The merger with Horizon looks quite promising, and should – if it goes ahead – produce a highly complementary business whilst expanding the footprint of each. While it is impossible to say if a higher value proposal will emerge, I wouldn't bet against Roc Oil going higher either in the short term or over a longer period of time as a merged company.
Collection House Limited (ASX: CLH) – last traded at $1.96, up 4.8% in 52 weeks.
Collection House Limited is a debt-collection company, which operates by purchasing uncollectable debts from businesses and then working to collect them.
Despite the somewhat unsavoury image the words 'debt collector' might conjure, Collection House is an ethical corporation which uses its focussed expertise to achieve collection outcomes that require too much time investment for a company whose main business lies elsewhere.
It also looks to be the most likely in today's article to enjoy sustained growth in its share price independently of the ASX.
Despite a diminished earnings per share figure (up 3.3%) as a result of a capital raising, Net Profit After Tax growth of 16% in 1H14 was impressive and looks likely to continue.
Australian United Investment Company Ltd (ASX: AUI) – last traded at $8.67, up 18% in 52 weeks.
Australian United is a Listed Investment Company (LIC), holding ASX listed shares and paying dividends from its income. Similar to the way owning a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) works with property, an LIC allows you the perks of owning shares without having to manage individual holdings yourself.
The nature of Australian United means that it is pretty likely to go higher yet – as long as the shares it owns keep appreciating in value.
With Net Tangible Assets valued at $8.23 per share in January 2014, the company is pretty fairly valued and a convenient purchase for those who want a simpler way to invest in big name companies.
However investors must be aware that any backwards slide in the value of the companies held will also have an equal impact on the value of Australian United shares.
Here at The Motley Fool, we know you're looking for ways to safely invest and grow your wealth, and you're probably here because you own or are thinking about owning shares.
We know the feeling! That's why we look for safe businesses with long-term tailwinds that are likely to deliver reliable earnings growth and a steadily increasing stream of dividends and capital gains to their owner.
As part of our never-ending search, we've recently released a free '10-step guide to making $1 million in the market' to our readers, which we'll send to you if you're interested.
Simply enter your email in the box below – there's no fuss, it takes less than 30 seconds – and we'll send it to you, completely FREE!
