Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs: Target, Verizon, Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market

Shares of Whole Foods Market hit a 52-week high of $92 on Monday. The stock's 52-week low of $52.62 was set on Aug. 9.

"We continue to prefer Whole Foods shares over The Fresh Market, as WFM shares are trading at a discount to TFM (27.6x calendarized FY13 EPS for WFM vs. 33.2x for TFM), despite: (1) WFM's stronger brand awareness, (2) greater health & wellness focus, and (3) less expansion risk," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a June 6 report. "In addition, we believe that WFM could ramp-up share repurchases later this year, as WFM has ~$7/share of cash & short-term investments on hand, which could drive $0.08 - $0.09 of EPS upside to our model for FY13."

Whole Foods' forward P/E is 38.53; the average among its peers is 22.74. For comparison, Safeway(SWY) has a lower forward P/E is 9.02.

Fifteen of the 25 analysts who cover Whole Foods rated it buy. Nine analysts gave the stock a hold rating and one rated it sell.

The stock has risen 29.69% year to date.