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With only a few hours left before Friday’s closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.3% for the week, with these three ASX 200 stocks racing ahead of those modest gains.
Which top-performing companies am I talking about?
Read on!
ASX 200 stocks racing higher this week
First up, we have Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS).
Shares in the Aussie oil and gas giant closed last Friday trading for $22.10, and are currently changing hands for $24.46.
That sees the Woodside share price up 10.7% for the week. Woodside shares are now back in the green for the full year, up 0.6%. The ASX 200 stock also trades on a 6.8% fully franked trailing dividend yield.
Woodside shares enjoyed tailwinds on numerous fronts this week, including a 7.2% lift in the Brent crude oil price since last Friday. Brent crude oil is currently trading for US$65.72 per barrel.
The Woodside share price also closed up 3.5% on Wednesday, following the release of the company’s September quarter results. Among the highlights, revenue of US$3.36 billion was up 3% from the prior quarter. And management boosted the company’s full-year production guidance.
And on Thursday, Woodside shares gained 4.3% after the company announced a strategic partnership with Williams for its Louisiana LNG project in the United States, securing US$250 million in proceeds.
Which brings us to the second ASX 200 stock smashing the benchmark’s returns this week, Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT).
Beach Energy shares closed last Friday trading for $1.09 and are currently changing hands for $1.26 apiece, up 16.1% for the week. Beach Energy shares remain down 3.3% over 12 months, with the stock also trading on a 7.1% fully franked trailing dividend yield.
Beach Energy has also enjoyed the rising oil price, as well as catching investor interest with Monday’s September quarter update release.
Highlights included an 8% quarter-on-quarter increase in production to 5 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe). And sales revenue increased by 18% to $537 million.
Leading the charge
Moving on to the top weekly ASX 200 stock performer on my list today, we have Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).
Shares in the lithium miner closed last week trading for $2.68, and are currently trading for $3.14 each. That puts the Pilbara Minerals share price up 17% for the week, with shares now up 19.4% over 12 months.
A lot of those gains are coming in today, with shares up 7.3% at the time of writing following the release of the miner’s quarterly update.
Highlights for the three months to September included a 2% quarter-on-quarter increase in spodumene production to 224,800 tonnes.
And with lithium prices picking up, the ASX 200 stock is capturing investor interest after posting a 30% increase in revenue to $251 million.