5 Worst Sectors to Avoid This Week

by Portfolio Grader | March 26, 2013 2:00 pm

This week, the Metals and Mining, Computer and Personal Electronics, Energy Services, Oil and Gas, and Semiconductor sectors rank lowest on the Portfolio Grader[1] database.

The Metals and Mining sector is lagging this week with 78% of its stocks (72 out of 92) rated a “sell”. Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF[2]), Walter Energy Inc. (NYSE:WLT[3]), and Thompson Creek Metals (NYSE:TC[4]) are pushing the sector down with F grades. Cliffs Natural Resources is the worst performer in this sector, with a 65.2% decline in the last 12 months. This is worse than the S&P 500, which has seen a 9.5% increase over the same period.

The Computer and Personal Electronics sector looks weak, with 62% of its stocks (13 out of 21) rated a “sell”. Diebold (NYSE:DBD[5]), QLogic (NASDAQ:QLGC[6]), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ[7]) are all currently earning F’s. Hewlett-Packard is performing worst overall in the sector, with a 8.3% decline over the last 12 months.

With 61% of its stocks (33 out of 54) rated “sell,” the Energy Services sector is struggling this week. Among Energy Services stocks, Gulfmark Offshore (NYSE:GLF[8]), Key Energy Services (NYSE:KEG[9]), and Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR[10]) are lingering near the bottom with grades of F. Key Energy Services is the worst stock in its sector, with the company’s share price falling 40.7% in the last 12 months.

The Oil and Gas sector is trailing behind others this week, with 61% of its stocks (121 out of 200) rated a “sell”. With an overall grade of F, Enerplus (NYSE:ERF[11]), Swift Energy (NYSE:SFY[12]), and Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX[13]) are weighing down the sector. Overall, Swift Energy is the poorest performer in this sector. Its share price has dropped 47.8% in the last 12 months.

The Semiconductor sector is dragging, with 57% of its stocks (47 out of 83) rated a “sell”. Out of the Semiconductor stocks, Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ:CY[14]), Atmel (NASDAQ:ATML[15]), and Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD[16]) are near the bottom with F’s. Advanced Micro Devices is the worst performer in this sector, with a 47.7% decline 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/2013/03/5-worst-sectors-to-avoid-this-week-dbd-qlgc-hpq-glf-keg-nbr-erf-sfy-nfx-clf-wlt-tc-cy-atml-amd-2/

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