With the end of the year fast approaching, it's time to start putting together "best of" and "worst of" lists for 2008. This entry is a little bit of both, but it's admittedly heavy on the "worst of." Among the current members of the S&P 500 Index (SPX), just 11 were sitting on a year-to-date gain as of the close of trading on Monday, November 24. Since Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) is unchanged, that means we have a whopping 488 securities sitting on a loss for the year.
Let's start with the bad news first. Among the worst-performing stocks on the SPX, the six top spots are claimed by stocks in the Insurance and Real Estate sectors. General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) has the dubious honor of dropping nearly 98% on the year, and -- not surprisingly -- American International Group (NYSE: AIG) isn't far behind.
Among financials, CIT Group (NYSE: CIT) and takeover target National City Corp. (NYSE: NCC) have fared the worst. General Motors (NYSE: GM) is the only Dow component to make the "worst of" roster.
As for the best-performing stocks in the SPX, discount retailer Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO) takes top honors with its gain of 41.29%. In fact, there are several cut-rate chains on the list, including the aforementioned Big Lots and Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT).
Wal-Mart and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) are the only two Dow members to make the "best of" list, and of that duo, only WMT is in positive territory for the year. Barr Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: BRL) is also near the top of the list, thanks in no small part to a $66.50-per-share buyout bid from Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: TEVA).
Finally, among financial names, H&R Block (NYSE: HRB) makes a somewhat unexpected appearance. Who knew? Although, if we can agree that financial markets abhor uncertainty, and only death and taxes are certain, HRB's outperformance begins to make a sick kind of sense.
Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.
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