Three large Minnesota-based companies are currently in bear territory: Polaris Industries, General Mills, and Patterson Companies. Proving that not all stocks behave the same in bull markets.
The Wall Street Journal published a story Monday about bear-market stocks in the S&P 500.
Companies whose shares are trading at least 20 percent off their 52-week highs are considered to be bearish. A small number of S&P 500 members are in bearish even though the broad market Index is trading in record territory.
Among the stocks the WSJ called out were Harley Davidson, Stanley Black and Decker and Whirlpool and attributing their slumps to trade war concerns.
Not all the S&P 500 bears are there due to trade concerns. The WSJ also noted the dip at Golden Valley-based General Mills. Their shares are off 27.9 percent from their 52-week high as the packaged food and pet food maker struggles to match changing consumer food preferences.
Looking at the 20 largest public companies based in Minnesota, those that are members of the S&P 500 index or close to being in it, two other stocks are currently in bear territory.
Medina-based Polaris Industries Inc. is a Minnesota -based company that is feeling the sting of trade concerns. Their shares are off 24.4 percent from a 52-week high of $137.51 per share.
They are feeling the impact of steel and aluminum price increases that CEO Scott Wine told CNBC last week are attributable to tariffs announced on those products earlier this year.
Speaking from the company's plant in Huntsville, Ala., Wine told CNBC the company sources about 80 percent of its parts domestically. But when the initial steel and aluminum tariffs hit, Polaris's parts providers were able to pass on immediate price increases that they hadn't been able to do before.
Wine said he agrees with the long-term goals of the tariffs but that he has expressed his concerns about the tariff's impact with Vice President Pence.
Wine is confident that the U.S. and China can eventually come new trade agreements. "Getting to freer and fairer trade is certainly in our best interests," Wine said.
The WSJ could have also called out Mendota Heights-based Patterson Companies. Among Minnesota's largest public companies their stock is deepest into bear territory. Patterson shares are trading around $24.56 per share, off 39.1 percent from its 52-week high of $40.36 per share as the company struggles with declining revenue in its Dental Products segment.
