Zacks.com featured highlights include Kohl's, Heritage Insurance, Pediatrix and Newmont

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – December 8, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are Kohl's KSS, Heritage Insurance HRTG, Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. MD and Newmont NEM.

4 Stocks Trading Near 52-Week Highs with Room to Rise Further

Stocks hitting their 52-week high and delivering consistent performance offer attractive opportunities to investors while building a portfolio. This is because stocks near that level are perceived to be winners. However, stocks touching a new 52-week high are often predisposed to profit-taking, resulting in pullbacks and trend reversals.

Moreover, given the high price, investors often wonder if the stock is overpriced. While the speculations are not absolutely baseless, all stocks hitting a 52-week high are not necessarily overpriced.

In fact, investors might lose out on top gainers in an attempt to avoid the steep prices.

Stocks such as Kohl's, Heritage Insurance, Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc. and Newmont are expected to maintain their momentum and keep scaling new highs. Extensive information on a stock is necessary to understand whether or not there is scope for further upside.

Here, we discuss a strategy to find the right stocks. The strategy borrows from the basics of momentum investing. This technique bets on “buy high, sell higher.”

52-Week High: A Good Indicator

Many times, stocks that hit a 52-week high fail to scale higher despite having potential. This is because investors fear that the stocks are overvalued and expect the price to crash.

In fact, overvaluation is natural for most of these stocks as investors’ focus (or willingness to pay a premium) has helped them reach the level. But that does not always indicate an impending decline. Factors such as robust sales, surging profit levels, earnings growth prospects and strategic acquisitions that encourage investors to bet on these stocks could keep them motivated if there is no tangible negative. In other words, the momentum might continue.

Also, when a string of positive developments dominates the market, investors find their underreaction unwarranted, even if there are no company-specific driving forces.

Here we present four stocks, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1, out of the 23 stocks that made it through the screen:

Kohl'sdelivered its third consecutive quarter of better-than-expected results, demonstrating operational progress. The company raised its full-year 2025 earnings guidance to $1.25-$1.45 per share. Gross margin expanded 51 basis points, reflecting improved profitability despite modest sales declines. Leadership stabilized with Michael Bender's permanent CEO appointment in November 2025, bringing extensive retail experience.

The company maintains strong cash generation and a healthy balance sheet while continuing its quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share. Management expressed confidence in building momentum through 2025 initiatives focused on quality products, value and frictionless customer experience.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KSS’s 2025 earnings has moved north by 85.1% to $1.24 per share in the past 30 days. The company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 73.8%.

Heritage Insurance Holdings remains focused on optimizing its portfolio of over $1 billion in gross premiums written toward products and geographies that maximize long-term returns to shareholders, while mitigating risk from a single or series of catastrophic weather events. This super-regional U.S. property and casualty insurance holding company thus depends on prudent underwriting execution, business diversification, rate adequacy initiatives implemented over the past three years, a robust reinsurance program and efficient management of losses and loss adjustment expenses.

Heritage continues to invest strategically in InsurTech and advanced analytics to manage exposures effectively, supporting prudent loss management, earnings consistency and book value growth. Additionally, its strong partnerships with independent agencies and auto insurers enhance distribution reach and business diversification through bundled product offerings.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HRTG’s fiscal 2026 earnings has moved north by 25.4% to $5.14 per share in the past 30 days. Its earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 100.05%.

Pediatrix Medical Group presents compelling near-term upside following exceptional third-quarter 2025 results that exceeded expectations. The company reported adjusted earnings of 67 cents per share, beating consensus estimates by 46%, driven by enhanced revenue cycle management, higher-acuity patient mix, and improved payor relationships.

Management raised full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to $270-290 million, reflecting operational momentum. Analyst upgrades followed, with Truist increasing price targets from $17 to $24. The company operates critical neonatal and maternal-fetal care services positioned to benefit from demographic tailwinds and policy support, including proposed ACA subsidy extensions. Strong cash flow enables strategic capital deployment through the $250 million share repurchase program announced in August 2025.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MD’s 2025 earnings has moved north by 8.4% to $2.07 per share in the past 30 days. The company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 35.42%.

Newmont is likely to gain from several projects, including the Tanami expansion. The acquisition of Newcrest also created an industry-leading portfolio and provided opportunities for significant synergies. The company remains focused on improving operational efficiency and returning value to shareholders.

The company logged a record quarterly free cash flow in the third quarter of 2025, underscoring its operational efficiency and the strength of its Tier 1 portfolio. Its free cash flow more than doubled year to year to record $1.6 billion, led by an increase in net cash from operating activities. This marked the fourth straight quarter of free cash flow exceeding $1 billion. Net cash from operating activities shot up 40% from the prior-year quarter to $2.3 billion. Strong free cash flow positions the company to strengthen its balance sheet and pursue strategic growth investments.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEM’s 2025 earnings has moved north by 3.2% to $6.05 per share in the past 30 days. Its earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 41.56%.

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For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2800308/4-stocks-trading-near-52-week-high-with-room-to-rise-further

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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