Stocks took a big step up last week, but not every investment is on the rise. Hundreds of stocks actually hit 52-week lows last week, even as the market in general is pushing its way higher.
Eventbrite (EB +0.00%), Six Flags Entertainment (SIX +0.00%), and Realogy Holdings (RLGY +0.00%) are all hitting their lowest levels in more than a year. Let's take a closer look to see what's weighing on these three investments that are failing to follow the market higher in 2019.
Image source: Six Flags Entertainment.
Eventbrite
The online event ticketing specialist has been sliding since posting disappointing financial results earlier this month. Revenue actually rose by a better-than-expected 21% for the quarter, and a wider loss than analysts were targeting isn't a deal breaker at this early stage of the dot-com enterprise. The real dagger in Eventbrite's report is its guidance, as the $80 million to $84 million that it sees for the current quarter is just 13% to 18% ahead of where it was during the first three months of last year. Sharply decelerating growth is never a good look, but it's even more problematic for an exchange-listed freshman.
Eventbrite went public six months ago, so technically it's not hitting a 52-week low. However, this 26-week low can also be restated as an all-time low. Eventbrite runs a vital online marketplace for free or nearly free event admissions. It helped folks square away 265 million tickets across 3.9 million Eventbrite-listed events last year, up 33% and 29%, respectively. However, with hiccups as it tries to integrate the 2017 acquisition of Ticketfly into its bloodstream, mounting losses, and now top-line growth slowing to the teens, it's hard to get investors excited about Eventbrite.
Six Flags Entertainment
This is typically the time of year that the regional amusement park operator shines. It may be off-season for most of the chain's parks, but Six Flags stock has moved higher during the first three months of the calendar year in all but one of the past eight years.
Six Flags took a hit after posting mixed financial results last month. Its CEO announcing earlier this month that he will resign by early next year adds more uncertainty to the situation. Analysts have been paring back their near-term profit forecasts in recent weeks, concerned about international expansion.
The silver lining here is that Six Flags hitting levels last seen in late 2016 is doing wonders for its yield. Six Flags pays out a generous quarterly dividend, and the slumping share price finds the stock's yield checking in at a hearty 6.4%.
Check out the latest earnings call transcripts for Six Flags Entertainment, Realogy, and other companies we cover.
Realogy Holdings
The housing industry is running into some resistance despite the generally buoyant economy, and real estate brokerage giant Realogy is feeling the pinch. The shares took a hit last month after falling short of analyst forecasts on both ends of the income statement.
The company behind Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Sotheby's International Realty, and several other real estate firms saw combined home-sale transaction volume decline 5% in the fourth quarter. The housing market has run into some headwinds with the uptick in mortgage rates, but Realogy fared slightly worse than the competition. Realogy also voiced concerns about its hefty leverage, and while it will make gnawing away at its debt a big part of 2019 strategy, its board inexplicably authorized a new share buyback authorization.
We get it. The stock's depressed. However, if leverage is an issue, then paying down the debt is more important than eating its own cooking or cutting dividend checks.
