LONDON -- Is the FTSE 100 (INDEX: ^FTSE) getting cold feet again as it inches toward its 52-week high of 5,989 points? Well, after an up week so far, it has fallen back a bit today, down 0.27% from yesterday's nine-month high.
Still, even if the FTSE 100 hasn't quite hit a year-high, a number of constituents of the various indexes have. Let's take a look at three of them.
WH Smith (SMWH 2.44%)
It's been a pretty good year for WH Smith, whose shares have risen more than 30% over the past 52 weeks to hit a new high of 668 pence. And since dipping to 467 pence in June, the shares have soared by 43%.
But even after that performance, current forecasts don't make the shares look expensive. City analysts have modest earnings-per-share growth of 6% penciled in, and that puts the shares on a price-to-earnings ratio of less than 10, and there's a 4.6% dividend yield predicted.
Xaar (XAR +3.64%)
Xaar, the wonderfully named inkjet printing technologist, enjoyed a boost yesterday from a strong trading update, and its share price has responded by hitting a new 52-week high of 290 pence.
After a strong second half, Xaar expects full-year revenue of 83 million pounds to 85 million pounds, up 20% on last year's figure. And partly thanks to operating profit margins rising from 15% to about 20%, profit is now expected to come in ahead of market forecasts.
Telecom Plus (TEP 1.41%)
Telecom and utility supplier Telecom Plus, which trades as the Utility Warehouse, is back on the up, having hit a new 12-month -- and five-year -- high of 910 pence today. The firm's price rise has been very impressive, and though the first quarter of this year did see a fall back to 602 pence, it is back up 50% since then.
Yet another two years of good growth are forecast, with dividend yields of 3.5% and 4.1% predicted for 2013 and 2014, respectively.
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