The stock market ended Monday with the S&P 500 continuing to hit new 52-week highs.
While many stocks have hit new 52-week highs in recent weeks, three well-known companies found themselves hitting new 52-week lows:
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT): The retailer hit new 52-week lows of $125.08 on Monday versus a 52-week high of $183.89. Shares are down 15.4% year-to-date and down 11.4% in the last 52 weeks.
The company has also been the subject of recent downgrades from analysts, including KeyBanc, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup. Shares have been under pressure on the heels of a social media boycott related to merchandise Target was selling in stores for Pride Month.
The Minneapolis-based company decided to pull certain products from stores over fears of safety for its employees. The boycott could have an impact on its current fiscal quarter and ongoing full fiscal year.
While Target shares have hit lows, competitor Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) has seen shares increase 7.9% year-to-date in 2023 and increase 29.8% in the last 52 weeks.
Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG): Discount retailer Dollar General hit a new 52-week low of $151.27 on Monday versus a 52-week high of $261.59. Shares are down 35.8% year-to-date in 2023 and down 31.4% in the last 52 weeks.
Shares of Dollar General have fallen after the company reported first-quarter financial results that came in shy of analysts' consensus estimates. Along with the financial report, the company also cut its full fiscal 2023 outlook citing macroeconomic issues.
New guidance calls for net sales to grow 3.5% to 5.0% year-over-year for the full year, versus prior guidance of growth of 5.5% to 6%. Analysts have cut their expectations for the Chesapeake, Virginia-based company after the earnings report.
Dollar Tree rival Dollar Tree Inc (NYSE: DLTR) has fared better in 2023 so far, with a 3.6% decline year-to-date. Five Below (NYSE: FIVE), meanwhile, has seen shares up 10.8% year-to-date and over 50% in the last 52 weeks.
Estée Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE: EL): The beauty products company hit a new 52-week low of $175.05 on Monday versus a 52-week high of $284.45. Shares are down 28.1% year-to-date in 2023 and down 23.4% over the last 52 weeks.
Shares of Estee Lauder have fallen since the company reported third quarter financial results, which came in mixed compared to analysts' estimates.
Analysts slashed price targets on the New York-based company. Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh recently downgraded shares from Outperform to Perform citing weakness across the company's Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East & Africa markets. Estimates are too optimistic, with updates to guidance and weakness in the company's normally strong areas, he explained.
Beauty companies like Ulta Beauty (NYSE: ULTA) and consumer products companies with beauty segments like Unilever (NYSE: UL) have performed better year-to-date than Estee Lauder.
Meanwhile, large technology companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), and the surge of valuation for artificial intelligence-linked stocks like Nvidia Corporation - up 184% year-to-date have helped the S&P 500.
Tribeca Trade Group CEO Christian Fromhertz shared a stat on Twitter that 24 stocks hit new 52-week highs on Monday, including Adobe (NASDAQ: ABDE), Biogen (NASDAQ: BIO), Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) and several cruise line stocks (Norwegian (NYSE: NCLH), Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) and Carnival (NYSE: CCL)).
In fact, the stock market bounced back in 2023 with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) up 14.6% year-to-date. The move comes after the leading S&P 500 ETF dropped 19.2% in 2022, its biggest annual loss since 2008.