Another overlooked factor is that Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) is a niche company in women’s health. Because women statistically live longer than men, this means a company like Hologic will be able to sell its diagnostic and medical products to female patients for a longer period of time than, say, a medical device and diagnostic company focused solely on men.
At 11 times forward earnings and with a sea of potential growth in breast cancer screening, Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) is a name I believe you should have a close eye on.
Living in a renter’s paradise
The last quarter has been rough on housing and office space real estate investment trusts, with 30-year mortgage rates spiking from less than 3.5% to as high as 4.75% recently. Low lending rates were one of the keys fueling the housing rally higher, so higher lending rates stemming from the potential wind-down of QE3 could serve to stymie growth. Yet for residential-REITs like Mid America Apartment Communities Inc (NYSE:MAA), the effect would actually be extremely positive.
Mid-America Apartment, which thankfully has a much shorter moniker in MAA, is already enjoying very high occupancy rates of 96.1% as of its most recent quarter. Where it’s really benefiting is with regard to rental rates. Vacancies for apartments are already low, but with mortgage rates rising, the incentive to purchase a home is quickly dwindling away. Instead, prospective homebuyers may choose to rent and wait out the next drop in interest rates. This expected influx of renters into an already tight market only serves to boost MAA’s pricing power. Not surprisingly, rental rates were up 4.7% in the past quarter.
Another growth driver looks to be its pending $8.6 billion merger with Colonial Properties Trust Inc (NYSE:CLP). The combined entity would become the second-largest U.S. based residential REIT, with 85,000 apartment units. Opposition to the deal from some of Colonial’s shareholders does exist, but comparatively speaking, MAA is in great shape either way. It already has a high occupancy rate, and the addition of Colonial’s properties would only further serve to enhance its rental pricing power.
With a yield in excess of 4%, MAA could have years of good time ahead if lending rates continue to trickle higher.
Foolish roundup
Sometimes investors need to be reminded that macroeconomic events that can affect a large group of stocks don’t necessarily hold true for every stock in a sector. QE3 may pose challenges to mREITs and residential-REITs, but there are certainly hidden gems mixed in with the possible losers. The same goes for Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX) with regard to its promise in women’s diagnostics, even with Europe weighing on most of the health care sector.
I’m so confident that these three names will bounce off their lows that I’m going to make a CAPScall of outperform on each one.
The article 3 Stocks Near 52-Week Lows Worth Buying originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.
Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.
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