3 Stocks Trading at 52-Week Lows — Is This the Bottom?

Another week of 2014 is in the books, and for these three companies trading at 52-week lows, it was a week to forget.

Equity Financial Holdings Inc. (TSX: EQI)

A financial services company whose specialty is in the alternative mortgage market, Equity Financial Holdings hit a new 52-week low of $9.70 on April 4. The company has experienced some executive turmoil, which is on the path to being resolved. This is still a young company with plenty of capital available, and despite the new low, it is only in a 52 week range of $12.99 to $9.70

NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (TSX: NWH.UN)

This company is Canada’s largest non-government owner/manager of medical office buildings and health care real estate. This REIT currently holds 4.7 million square feet of leasable space in 78 property’s spread over seven provinces. NorthWest hit a new 52-week low on March 31 when the stock fell to $9.52, the stock has been in a steady decline since hitting a 52-week high of $13.30 back in May.

Ongoing fears of rising interest rates have caused investors become skittish with REITs in general and that sentiment has also affected this stock. Although the stock has been steadily sliding, revenues have not, with its three-months ending revenues coming in a $38.4 million, up from $36.7 million during the same period last year. Net operating income has been tracking along with revenues with the last quarter earning $20.7 million up from $20 million last year, and occupancy fell slightly to 91.3%

ViXS Systems Inc. (TSX: VXS)

ViXS is a creator and producer of media processing semiconductor solutions for the broadcasting and consumer electronics industries. The company holds 447 worldwide patents, but its newest technology is what is keeping the company moving. The ViXS XCode 6400 video decoder is quickly becoming an integral part in the next generation of Ultra HD 4K televisions. So far ViXS has picked up contracts to supply its technology to a number of industry leaders.

Many of these companies demonstrated the capabilities of ViXS through their devices at the 2014 National Association of Broadcasters tradeshow in Las Vegas, but the publicity was not enough to help the stock, as it hit a new 52-week low of $1.85 on April 4, continuing a downward trend that began in February. Recent agreements with Toshiba and slightly lowered prices for Ultra HD TVs have helped the stock climb back up to a Friday closing price of $2.09.

Foolish bottom line

The market is full of highs and lows and savvy investors know when to jump on a good deal. For these companies, a week like this could turn into an opportunity for investors, if they can ride out the waves of the market and learn from its missteps.