Unfortunately for their respective shareholders, a number of shares including Cash Converters International Ltd (ASX: CCV) and Healthscope Ltd (ASX: HSO) fell to 52-week lows yesterdays.
But not all shares fared so badly during trade on Monday. In fact, several shares scaled to new 52-week highs:
The Cimic Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) share price climbed to a 52-week high of $41.12 on Monday. The month of May has certainly been a busy one for the leading construction company. It has announced no less than five building contracts this month worth a total of around $1 billion. A further positive has been news that the company had its credit rating increased by Standard & Poor's. Whilst things look very positive for Cimic moving forward, at 28x trailing earnings I think its shares are a touch expensive now.
The Codan Limited (ASX: CDA) share price jumped to a multi-year high of $2.56 yesterday. A trading update in the middle of the month has been the catalyst for its recent gains. That update revealed that thanks to strong metal detector sales into Africa, group sales for the ten months to 30 April were $191 million. This is an impressive 33% increase on the prior corresponding period. With underlying net profit after tax expected to come in at $44 million, Codan's shares still look to be great value in my opinion.
The Freedom Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: FIG) share price jumped to an all-time high of 80.5 cents on Monday following the release of yet another positive market update from the life insurance provider. Due to strong sales and improved operating efficiencies, management advised that it expects to hit the upper-end of its full-year guidance. Despite its incredible 130% gain since hitting the ASX boards late last year, I still believe that Freedom Insurance's shares could climb higher.
