Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis.
With Friday’s gains, the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) closed out a great week, during which it tacked on 2% on good economic news from China, and bets on the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting next week. The benchmark added four points, or 0.3%, today, ending at 1,687. That said, these three S&P components all sold off intensely today, highlighting the index’s worst performers.
Oil and gas pipeline company QEP Resources Inc (NYSE:QEP) shed 2.3% after the stock was downgraded at Deutsche Bank, to hold, from buy. Despite the company’s exposure to the coveted Bakken formation — a rich source of shale deposits that’s sparked a flurry of companies to frack in the area — QEP’s stock has failed to perform, losing ground over the last one-year, three-year, and five-year periods.
Lastly, contract-drilling company ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) dropped 2.2% Friday, a decline that was also fueled by negative analyst sentiment. Bernstein downgraded the stock to a market perform rating, from outperform, citing broader trends in the rig industry that it sees as negatives for offshore drillers, in general. The sell-off means Ensco now trades at about 10 times earnings, while paying a 3.6% dividend. While investors should always be mindful of a value trap, energy gurus may want to keep an eye on Ensco’s stock should the market become unreasonably bearish.
The article Today’s 3 Worst Stocks originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor John Divine has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him on Twitter @divinebizkid and on Motley Fool CAPS @TMFDivine.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.
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