Where The Selling Ran Deepest: 3 S&P 500 Stocks At 52-Week Lows
A short list of market laggards features a steep decline in one name and continued business growth in another.
Just 3 S&P 500 stocks are trading at their 52-week lows as of Friday. The largest name on this short list is Martin Marietta Materials (MLM), a company with a market value of about $31.7 billion.
These lows arrive while the broader S&P 500 has returned +0.2% over the last month, focusing attention on the individual businesses themselves. The central question is what separates a business hitting a rough patch from one that is simply cheaper. The full list of names follows.
Friday’s Full 52-Week-Low List
The table below lists every stock at its 52-week low, largest first, with one-day, one-week, one-month, and one-year returns:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLM | $31.7 Bil | -2.8% | -6.2% | -9.3% | -8.2% |
| ROL | $18.3 Bil | -1.0% | -1.5% | -9.9% | -33.3% |
| LII | $14.5 Bil | -0.4% | -23.1% | -27.2% | -31.7% |
Which business is still growing despite its stock’s decline?
Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) stands out for its fundamentals. While the stock is at a new low, its revenue grew 14.8% over the last twelve months. The company trades at 12.8 times trailing earnings.
In contrast, Lennox International (LII) saw its revenue decline 2.1% over the last twelve months. That business reality accompanies the steepest one-month slide on the list, with the stock down 27.2%.
So is a 52-week low a red flag or a green light?
A 52-week low is a starting point for research, not a conclusion. The price itself tells you nothing about the underlying business or its prospects. A stock at its weakest price of the last year could signal fundamental deterioration, or it could be a healthy, growing company whose shares have simply become less expensive.
The disciplined approach is to investigate the business first. Understanding the company’s performance is the only way to distinguish between a potential bargain and a genuine warning sign.
If any of these names tempt you, resist buying a price alone. Our Buy the Dip screen asks the follow-up question that matters: which marked-down stocks still have the growth and cash generation to recover.
A 52 Week Low Is A Stress Test For Concentrated Portfolios
Every stock on this list just showed its holders what a bad year feels like. How much damage any single position could do to your net worth is a question with a precise answer. The Trefis Wealth team computes it for investors professionally, with the same rules-based systematic discipline that runs our High Quality Portfolio. Request a free vulnerability audit of your biggest positions.