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Best- and Worst-Performing UK Stocks of Q3 2024

JD Sports and Marks & Spencer rank among the best stocks for the quarter, while the worst include BP and Rentokil

Bella Albrecht 1 October, 2024 | 2:18PM
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The Morningstar UK Large-Mid Cap Index rose 2.3% in the third quarter amid a rally in the consumer cyclical 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.

Ocado OCDO and Kingfisher KGF from the top performer list, and Burberry BRBY from the bottom performer list, are all among the most shorted stocks in the UK right now.

Best-Performing Stocks of the Third Quarter 2024

• St. James's Place STJ
• Ocado Group OCDO
• Marks & Spencer MKS
• Kingfisher KGF
• JD Sports Fashion JD.

Worst-Performing Stocks of the Third Quarter 2024

• Rentokil Initial RTO
• Burberry Group BRBY
• Melrose Industries MRO
• BP BP.
• Softcat SCT

Metrics for the Best-Performing Stocks

St. James's Place STJ

• Sector: Financial Services
• Industry: Asset Management
• Economic Moat: Not Rated

St. James's Place rallied 35.5% in the third quarter, but was still down 9.4% over the past year. Shares are 12.2% below their last high on Oct. 2, 2023. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Ocado Group OCDO

• Sector: Consumer Defensive
• Industry: Grocery Stores
• Economic Moat: None

Ocado Group climbed 33.0%, but was still down 36.0% for the year. Shares are 51.9% below their last high on Dec. 20, 2023. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars and is trading at a 58% discount to its fair value estimate of £9.20.

Marks & Spencer MKS

• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Department Stores
• Economic Moat: None

Marks & Spencer rose 30.1%, bringing the stock up 59.1% over the past year. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 stars.

Kingfisher KGF

• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Home Improvement Retail
• Economic Moat: None

Kingfisher climbed 29.4%, having risen 51.6% from one year ago. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 2 stars and is trading at an 11% premium to its fair value estimate of £2.90.

JD Sports Fashion JD.

• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Apparel Retail
• Economic Moat: Not Rated

JD Sports Fashion advanced 28.9%, lifting shares 3.6% from one year ago. Shares are 13.3% below their last high on Dec. 20, 2023. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 4 stars.

Metrics for the Worst-Performing Stocks

Rentokil Initial RTO

• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Specialty Business Services
• Economic Moat: Wide

Rentokil fell 20.4% in the third quarter, having fallen 39.1% from one year ago. Shares are 40.8% below their last high on Oct. 13, 2023. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars and is trading at a 41% discount its fair value estimate of £6.20.

Burberry Group BRBY

• Sector: Consumer Cyclical
• Industry: Luxury Goods
• Economic Moat: Narrow

Burberry Group slid 20.1%, having fallen 61.1% from one year ago. Shares are 64.0% below their last high on Oct. 2, 2023. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars and is trading at a 47% discount to its fair value estimate of £13.30. 

Melrose Industries MRO

• Sector: Industrials
• Industry: Specialty Industrial Machinery
• Economic Moat: Wide

Melrose Industries fell 17.3%, having fallen 2.0% from one year ago. Shares are 33.1% below their last high on April 8, 2024. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 5 stars and is trading at a 38% discount to its fair value estimate of £7.40.

BP BP.

• Sector: Energy
• Industry: Oil & Gas Integrated
• Economic Moat: None

BP fell 16.4%, having fallen 22.5% from one year ago. Shares are 30.3% below their last high on Oct. 18, 2023. The company's stock has a Morningstar Rating of 4 stars and is trading at a 20% discount to its fair value estimate of £4.90.

Softcat SCT

• Sector: Technology
• Industry: Electronics & Computer Distribution
• Economic Moat: Not Rated

Softcat slid 14.6%, but shares were still up 9.4% for the year. Shares are 16.3% below their last high on June 24, 2024. The company's stock has a quantitative Morningstar Rating of 3 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.

This article was generated with the help of automation and reviewed by Morningstar editors.

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The information contained within is for educational and informational purposes ONLY. It is not intended nor should it be considered an invitation or inducement to buy or sell a security or securities noted within nor should it be viewed as a communication intended to persuade or incite you to buy or sell security or securities noted within. Any commentary provided is the opinion of the author and should not be considered a personalised recommendation. The information contained within should not be a person's sole basis for making an investment decision. Please contact your financial professional before making an investment decision.

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About Author

Bella Albrecht  is associate data journalist at Morningstar

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