Why Ralph Lauren Corp (RL), Post Holdings Inc (POST) and E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (DD) Are 3 of Today’s Worst Stocks

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A mirror image of Tuesday’s action, stocks started out strong on Wednesday only to see that buying wither away and lead back to near-breakeven levels. All told, the S&P 500 finished the session at 2098.46, down an almost imperceptible 0.03%.

Why Ralph Lauren Corp (RL), Post Holdings Inc (POST) and E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (DD) Are 3 of Today's Worst StocksIt was anything but mild for Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST), Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL) and E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD), however. These three names took on more than their fair share of water, for understandable reasons.

Ralph Lauren Corp (RL)

The good news is, Ralph Lauren managed to top its fourth-quarter earnings estimates. The bad news is, that was the only good news for RL shareholders today.

The rest of the news sent RL shares lower to the tune of more than 2%.

Last quarter, Ralph Lauren earned $1.41 per share versus forecasts for a profit of $1.32 per share. Revenue of $1.89 billion just barely eclipsed the outlook for a top line of $1.88 billion, but a beat is still a beat. The impasse was the year-over-year earnings and same-store sales comparison. Per-share income fell more than 16%, and same-store sales were off by 4%.

Disadvantageous exchange rates did the bulk of the damage to the Q4 numbers that Ralph Lauren posted on Wednesday, but investors weren’t sympathetic in the shadow of single-digit revenue-growth guidance for the coming fiscal year.

E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (DD)

Superficially speaking, shares of E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co — better known as DuPont — should be up today, if you consider that the majority of shareholders theoretically got what they wanted.

The stock’s 7% drop on Wednesday, however, suggests most of the company’s investors who aren’t married to their position are less than thrilled.

The steep selling was spurred by news that activist investor Nelson Peltz did not successfully place any of his hand-picked people on the DuPont board of directors. Peltz, via his company Trian Fund Management, was aiming to secure four seats on the DuPont board after claiming that the company isn’t living up to its full potential.

Directors are selected by shareholders, with each share of DD serving as one vote. The failure by Peltz to place any of his selections on the board is a message that most DuPont shareholders didn’t agree with Peltz’s assessment and plans for the chemical company.

So why the pullback? Investors who are in DD for the long haul and don’t want anything to change simply stood pat. Today’s sellers are primarily people who were counting on a sweeping victory in the proxy fight. That loss sent them scurrying.

Post Holdings Inc (POST)

Shareholders of Post Holdings didn’t even get a chance to watch the ink dry on the stock’s post-earnings rally on Friday and Monday before a dose of bad news upended POST shares. Thanks to today’s 8% tumble, Post Holdings has peeled back more than 12% from Monday’s peak of $51.80.

The prod for the selling was renewed concerns regarding bird flu. Another case was found in Indiana this weekend, marking the 15th state it’s been found in the U.S. since outbreaks begin popping up about a month ago.

The spread of avian flu has affected approximately 20% of egg supply Post Holdings relies on, which could lead to higher costs for the company and/or higher prices for consumers.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/05/ralph-lauren-corp-rl-post-holdings-inc-post-e-i-du-pont-de-nemours-and-co-dd-3-todays-worst-stocks/.

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