The Morningstar UK Large-Mid Cap Index rose 5.9% in the first quarter amid a rally in the financial services sector. The large-mid index tracks the performance of the top 90% of the UK investable universe by market cap, and each quarter we screen from among the stocks in this index to find the best- and worst-performing companies. Data in this article is sourced from Morningstar Direct.
Best-Performing Stocks of the First Quarter 2025
• Fresnillo FRES
• Airtel Africa PLC Ordinary Shares AAF
• BAE Systems BA.
• Rolls-Royce Holdings RR.
• Prudential UK PRU
Worst-Performing Stocks of the First Quarter 2025
• Greggs GRG
• WPP WPP
• JD Sports Fashion JD.
• B&M European Value Retail Holdco 4 BME
• Jet2 JET2
Best-Performing UK Stocks
Source: Morningstar Direct. Data as of March 31, 2025.
Metrics for the Best-Performing Stocks
Fresnillo FRES
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Industry: Other Precious Metals & Mining
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
Fresnillo surged 50.6% in the first quarter, bringing the stock up 102.2% over the past year. The company’s stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 2 stars.
Airtel Africa PLC Ordinary Shares AAF
• Sector: Communication Services
• Industry: Telecom Services
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
Airtel Africa surged 45.8%, leaving the stock up 63.6% for the year. The company’s stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
BAE Systems BA.
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Aerospace & Defense
• Economic Moat: Wide
BAE Systems rose 35.8%, bringing the stock up 18.3% over the past year. The company’s stock has a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars and is trading at a 1% premium to its fair value estimate of £15.50.
Rolls-Royce Holdings RR.
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Aerospace & Defense
• Economic Moat: Narrow
Rolls-Royce surged 31.7%, leaving the stock up 75.5% for the year. The company’s stock has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars and is trading at a 22% discount to its fair value estimate of £9.60.
Prudential UK PRU
• Sector: Financial Services
• Industry: Insurance - Life
• Economic Moat: None
Prudential UK climbed 31.7%, lifting shares 13.8% from one year ago. The company’s stock has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars and is trading at a 31% discount to its fair value estimate of £12.00.
Worst-Performing UK Stocks
Source: Morningstar Direct. Data as of March 31, 2025.
Metrics for the Worst-Performing Stocks
Greggs GRG
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Restaurants
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
Greggs fell 37.6% in the first quarter, leaving the stock down 37.2% for the year. Shares are 46.5% below their last high on Sept. 20, 2024. The company’s stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
WPP WPP
• Sector: Communication Services
• Industry: Advertising Agencies
• Economic Moat: Narrow
WPP slid 29.8% and declined 18.9% over the past year. Shares are 35.6% below their last high on Dec. 9, 2024. The company’s stock has a Morningstar Rating of 3 stars and is trading at a 17% discount to its fair value estimate of £7.00.
JD Sports Fashion JD.
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Apparel Retail
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
JD Sports Fashion slid 29.2% and declined 49.1% over the past year. Shares are 58.1% below their last high on Sept. 17, 2024. The company’s stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
B&M European Value Retail Holdco 4 BME
• Sector: Consumer Defensive
• Industry: Discount Stores
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
B&M European Value Retail fell 25.6% and declined 48.1% over the past year. Shares are 53.2% below their last high on May 23, 2024. The company’s stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Jet2 JET2
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Travel Services
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
Jet2 fell 21.5%, leaving the stock down 13.2% for the year. Shares are 26.2% below their last high on Dec. 11, 2024. The company’s stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 5 stars.
Companies that are not formally covered by a Morningstar analyst are statistically matched to analyst-rated companies, allowing our models to calculate a quantitative star rating.
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