5 Worst Sectors to Avoid This Week

by Portfolio Grader | December 4, 2012 1:00 pm

This week, the Metals and Mining, Communications Equipment, Energy Services, Gas Utilities, and Oil and Gas sectors rank lowest on the Portfolio Grader[1] database.

The Metals and Mining sector is trailing behind others this week, with 69% of its stocks (60 out of 87) rated a “sell”. Among Metals and Mining stocks, Mechel (NYSE:MTL[2]), ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT[3]), and Walter Energy Inc. (NYSE:WLT[4]) are lingering near the bottom with grades of F. Overall, Walter Energy Inc. is the poorest performer in this sector. Its share price has dropped 48.5% in the last 12 months.

The Communications Equipment sector looks weak, with 68% of its stocks (23 out of 34) rated a “sell”. Acme Packet (NASDAQ:APKT[5]), Adtran (NASDAQ:ADTN[6]), and Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT[7]) are dragging down the sector overall, each earning a low grade of F.

The Energy Services sector is lagging this week with 65% of its stocks (33 out of 51) rated a “sell”. Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS[8]), Gulfmark Offshore (NYSE:GLF[9]), and Key Energy Services (NYSE:KEG[10]) are all currently earning F’s. Key Energy Services is the worst performer in this sector, with a 50.2% decline in the last 12 months.

With 63% of its stocks (10 out of 16) rated “sell,” the Gas Utilities sector is struggling this week. With a grade of D, South Jersey Industries (NYSE:SJI[11]) andWGL Holdings (NYSE:WGL[12]) are weighing down the sector. New Jersey Resources (NYSE:NJR[13]) also ranks a low F. Over the last 12 months, New Jersey Resources is the worst performer in this sector, with a 13.7% decline.

The Oil and Gas sector is dragging, with 60% of its stocks (114 out of 191) rated a “sell”. With an overall grade of F, Bill Barrett (NYSE:BBG[14]), Enerplus (NYSE:ERF[15]), and Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR[16]) are weighing down the sector. Alpha Natural Resources is the worst stock in its sector, with the company’s share price falling 58.9% in the last 12 months.

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader[1] stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here[17].

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/12/5-worst-sectors-to-avoid-this-week-pds-glf-keg-apkt-adtn-hlit-bbg-erf-anr-mtl-mt-wlt-njr-sji-wgl/

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