The Worst Performing S&P 500 Stocks

We have already taken a look at the top performers on the index and wanted to pair that with a look at the worst performers. Here is what we found.

SanDisk

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) has been the worst performing S&P 500 stock so far this year, dropping about 31.4% to close at $67.00 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $63.00 to $108.77. The consensus price target on the stock is $70.61 and the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 14.32. Analysts at Drexel Hamilton cut the stock from Hold to Sell on Friday with a price target of $60, following cuts from the equivalent of Buy to Hold at three other analyst firms on Thursday.

When it reported first-quarter results last week, SanDisk noted a $61 million impairment charge related to an R&D project at recently acquired Fusion-io and $41 million in restructuring charges. When it released guidance SanDisk projected full-year revenues of $5.4 to $5.7 billion, well short of the $6.1 billion consensus.

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Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren Corp. (NYSE: RL) has had a surprisingly tough year so far. Shares have dropped about 27.5% to close at $133.78 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $127.29 to $187.49. The consensus price target is $149.53 and the forward P/E ratio is 18.66. The company recently shook up its top management a bit, but the changes were mainly promotions rather than replacements. Since January, four analysts have downgraded the firm from Buy to the equivalent of Hold.

Fossil

Fossil Group Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) has posted a share price decline of 25.6% since the beginning of the year. Shares closed at $82.45 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $79.50 to $115.20. The consensus price target is $92.07 and the forward P/E ratio is 12.74. The company is getting hammered by anticipation that sales of smartwatches, particularly from Apple, will sink the company’s watch business. The jury is still out on the outcome, but there are forecasts that Apple will sell 20 million Apple Watches this year, and that has been enough to drive Fossil’s shares into the tank.

Tiffany

Shares of Tiffany & Co (NYSE: TIF) have dropped about 20.5% since January 1 to close at $84.59 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $82.64 to $110.60. The consensus price target on the stock is $97.87, and the forward P/E multiple is 17.70. Somehow the company’s recent launch of a new line of men’s vintage watches has failed to stir up a lot of excitement among investors. Perhaps competition with the $10,000 Apple Watches has figured into investors’ calculations.

Tiffany’s foreign sales are being hampered by the strong dollar, and the company’s most recent guidance cut the earnings per share forecast to $4.20, well short of the $4.45 analysts were expecting. Tiffany also expects a 10% drop in revenues, far below the prior analysts’ consensus for a drop of just 1%.

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Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) is the fifth-worst performer among the S&P 500 so far in 2015. The stock closed at $15.45 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $13.38 to $29.92. The consensus price target is $17.48, and the forward P/E multiple is 171.67.

Tumbling crude oil prices combined with still-low natural gas prices, coupled with the company’s still-high debt burden, have made investors increasingly wary. Short interest in the stock now makes up nearly 21% of the company’s float and short interest rose by more than 22% in the most recent reporting period. Chesapeake also posted a negative reserves replacement rate in 2014, never a good sign for investors.