What do an oil refiner, a private hospital operator and a travel agent have in common?
They're among the very small minority of companies nudging 52-week highs while the rest of the ASX is falling.
Caltex Australia Ltd (ASX: CTX) has soared recently after half-year results showed an 11% increase in revenue and a 20c interim dividend (up from 17c).
Investors are apparently buying into the closure of Kurnell refinery which will reduce staff and costs while maintaining revenues.
While this is a promising development for the company's bottom line it does leave it vulnerable to pricing pressures from overseas, since Caltex will now be more of a retail provider rather than a producer-refiner.
A falling Aussie dollar may also increase the cost of doing business for Caltex, particularly if it struggles to pass on costs to consumers.
This one looks to be overvalued at present and I wouldn't expect to see it climb much higher.
The situation is different for Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) however, which as one of Australia's more recent IPOs, enjoys a lot of investor interest.
The market is apparently attracted to its quality portfolio of private hospitals and pathology services, comparing it favourably to fellow provider Primary Health Care Limited (ASX: PRY) which has lost traction in recent weeks.
It's still too early to tell if Healthscope is a great purchase, although the fact that management successfully hit FY14's goals and is on track for earnings growth of around 9% in FY15 is quite promising.
I'd say this one may go a little higher, more so if the market starts to cast around for defensive stocks like healthcare and infrastructure.
Finally Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) is enjoying a price surge after its full year report delivered a staggering 42.4% increase in revenue and a 40.6% rise in net profit attributable to members.
While its dividend is a measly 1.8% fully franked, the company has enjoyed a strong run and analysts are predicting a further 30-40% leap in profits for 2015.
With globally diversified operations the company is fairly well protected from falls in the Australian dollar and as Motley Fool writer Tom Richardson notes, the company looks a strong buy in his opinion.
You can read Tom's coverage of Corporate Travel's FY14 results here, and I'd say investors should watch out for a string of successively higher highs over coming months and years.
