Surprising stocks top best of 2008 list
Posted
Jun 26 2008, 04:18 AM
by
Jon Markman
Rating:
It’s easy to imagine that the 25 best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index this year are all oil and gas producers, and the 25 worst-performing stocks are all banks and brokers. Yet as we near the halfway mark in 2008, it turns out that there are quite a few surprises in the mix of best and worst.
For instance, the No. 1 stock in the benchmark index this year isn’t an oil producer, but a coal miner, Massey Energy. It’s up 155% so far, rising to $89 from $35 as coal prices have soared in the wake of booming demand in China and India. The No. 2 stock is actually a discount retailer, Big Lots. It’s up 100%, from $15 to $30, as investors speculate it will get a big share of tax-rebate money from low-income Americans.
Most of the rest of the next best 15 gainers are oil and gas producers, including Nabors Industries, up 79%, and Chesapeake Energy, up 67%, but there are more surprises as well. Truck renter Ryder Systems (R) is No. 9 on the list, up 48%, as a side bet on goods being shipped to retail stores, while toymaker Hasbro Inc. is up 46% on the strength of a good old-fashioned earnings turnaround.
Among the worst performing large companies, most are certainly financials like bond-insurer MBIA, down 73%; Midwestern bank National City, down 69%; equipment financer CIT Group, down 64% and broker Lehman Brothers, down 63%. But as you move up the list some surprises emerge. Gasoline refiner Tesoro has seen shares plunge 55% as its raw material costs have soared, while UnitedHealth Group, Coventry Health and Humana are down 46% to 54% due to Medicare reimbursement scares and fears that a Democratic administration would ruin their business by pushing for government-provided universal health insurance.
Among the more unusual beat-downs this year are wireless handset maker Motorola, down 54%; aerospace metals provider Titanium Metals (TIE), down 44%; and telecom giant Qwest Communications, down 44%.
If I had to guess which winner were the most likely to sink and which loser were the most likely to rebound over the rest of the year, I’d have to speculate on a fall in Massey and an advance in Tesoro. How about you? Chime in with a comment.
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