The Morningstar UK Large-Mid Cap Index rose 2.2% in May amid a rally in the communication services sector.
The large-mid index tracks the performance of the top 90% of the UK investable universe by market cap, and each month 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 May 2024
1. Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.)
2. BT (BT.A)
3. International Distributions Services (IDS)
4. Marks & Spencer (MKS)
5. Auto Trader (AUTO)
Worst-Performing Stocks of May 2024
1. easyJet (EZJ)
2. Entain (ENT)
3. Sage (SGE)
4. Burberry (BRBY)
5. National Grid (NG.)
Metrics for the Best-Performing Stocks
Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.)
• Sector: Financial Services
• Industry: Asset Management
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
Hargreaves Lansdown rose 29.7% in May, bringing the stock up 39.4% over the past year. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
BT (BT.A)
• Sector: Communication Services
• Industry: Telecom Services
• Economic Moat: Narrow
BT surged 27.3%, but was still down 5.1% for the year. Shares are 21.1% below their last high on June 23, 2023. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars and is trading at a 35% discount to its fair value estimate of £2.00.
International Distributions Services (IDS)
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Integrated Freight & Logistics
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
International Distributions Services advanced 24.2%, bringing the stock up 70.9% over the past year. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.
Marks & Spencer (MKS)
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Department Stores
• Economic Moat: None
Marks & Spencer advanced 18.8%, leaving the stock up 70.9% for the year. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 2 stars and is trading at a 31% premium to its fair value estimate of £2.30.
Auto Trader (AUTO)
• Sector: Communication Services
• Industry: Internet Content & Information
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
Auto Trader advanced 16.9%, lifting shares 31.4% from one year ago. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Metrics for the Worst-Performing Stocks
easyJet (EZJ)
• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Airlines
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
easyJet fell 14.6% in May, having fallen 1.6% from one year ago. Shares are 22.2% below their last high on April 10, 2024. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Entain (ENT)
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Gambling
• Economic Moat: Not Rated
Entain slid 14.2% and declined 47.8% over the past year. Shares are 52.3% below their last high on Aug. 4, 2023. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.
Sage Group (SGE)
• Sector: Technology
• Industry: Software – Application
• Economic Moat: Narrow
Sage Group slid 11.7%, shares were still up 20.4% for the year. Shares are 20.4% below their last high on March 25, 2024. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 2 stars and is trading at a 16% premium to its fair value estimate of £8.80.
Burberry Group (BRBY)
• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Luxury Goods
• Economic Moat: Narrow
Burberry Group slid 10.0% and declined 50.4% over the past year. Shares are 54.8% below their last high on June 16, 2023. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars and is trading at a 38% discount to its fair value estimate of £16.80.
National Grid (NG.)
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: Utilities - Regulated Electric
• Economic Moat: None
National Grid fell 8.4%, leaving the stock down 8.4% for the year. Shares are 16.2% below their last high on May 17, 2024. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars and is trading at a 9% discount to its fair value estimate of £9.70.
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.
This article was generated with the help of automation and reviewed by Morningstar editors.