Tate & Lyle PLC (LON:TATE), Marston's PLC (LON:MARS) and Goodwin plc (LON:GDWN) are soaring.
The FTSE 100 (UKX) is remaining stable around yesterday's close, just a point down on 6,103 in early trading, and 31 points down on its recent 52-week high of 6,134. Miners have held the index back today, after Rio Tinto's boss has departed as a result of a shock £9 billion write-down.
But while the FTSE is pausing for breath, there are companies reaching new record prices every day. Here are three doing well this week:
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle (LSE: TATE) reached a new high point in early trading this morning, of 803p, but has since fallen back to 792p. That's 15% up over the past year, coming after the firm has recorded several years of rising earnings and dividends -- but the price rise has eroded the dividend yield, with last year's 24.9p payout representing 3.5%.
Analysts are forecasting 26.3p this year, for a yield of about the same, and it should be about twice covered by earnings. But with no earnings growth expected, the shares are on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of approximately 14.
Marston's
Marston's (LSE: MARS) shares ended yesterday on a new high of 129.3p, and are up a fraction to 129.6p at the time of writing. Shares in the brewer have had a very good run over the past year, putting on nearly 40% since last summer, with the gains cemented by very strong annual results for the year to September.
Group revenue climbed 5.5% to £719.7 million, and underlying pre-tax profit was boosted by 9.2% to £87.8 million. Underlying earnings per share rose 9.8%, allowing the company to pay a final dividend of 3.9p per share (up 5%) for a total of 6.1p. And even after such a good year, the shares are still only on a forward P/E of 10 based on forecasts for September 2013, with a dividend yield of 5% expected.
Goodwin
Goodwin (LSE: GDWN) shares closed the day yesterday by equalling the 52-week record they set last week, with the price now up around 65% over the past 12 months. In fact, shares in the small-cap engineer have had a good run since the depths of the recession, having just about trebled since early 2009.
There are no forecasts currently available for the company, but based on earnings per share from the year ending April 2012, the shares are on a P/E of almost 17. There isn't much debt on the books, but it has crept up a little over the past couple of years.
Finally, useful daily gains from shares can all play their part in making you your first million. The real secret to becoming rich from shares is simple long-term investing in fundamentally sound companies, and letting steady growth and dividends power your wealth upwards.
If you don't think a million is feasible, read Motley Fool report "10 Steps To Making A Million In The Market" and see if you change your mind. The report won't cost you a penny, so click here to have a copy delivered to your inbox while it's still available.
> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article.
