5 Stocks to Sell Before Year’s End

5 Stocks to Sell Before Year?s End

Looking ahead to 2015, you should start making some decisions about your portfolio. You want to enter the New Year in a strong financial position. Getting there requires you to trim your holdings in companies which continue to underperform and which are not likely to turnaround in the near future.

It is not always easy to know which stocks you should sell and which you should hold. However, you should not rely solely on the advice of your broker. Gathering analysis from independent experts will help you make a more informed decision.

Kiplinger.com has an article that breaks down the prospects of 5 companies and gives explanations as to why you should sell your shares in them. The 5 companies are:

• IBM
• McDonald?s
• J.C. Penny
• Motorola Solutions
• Sears Holdings

As you can see, these are very popular brands. They were at one time pillars of American IT and retail. However, the companies are now struggling in their respective industries. Long gone are the days when J.C. Penny, for example, was a mainstay of shopping centers across the nation. The Kiplinger article describes the current difficulties of the company:

J.C. Penney (JCP) has been trying to right itself for years, with little success. The retailer alienated core customers when former chief executive officer Ron Johnson redesigned stores and eliminated discount coupons. Penney dismissed Johnson in 2013, and it rehired previous CEO Mike Ullman, who had retired in 2011. Now, Marvin Ellison, most recently a senior executive at Home Depot, is slated to take over in August. Ellison?s knowledge of supply-chain management could help lower costs at Penney, but it will be an uphill battle to win back customers.

You can read the descriptions and analyses of the other companies on the list here. You will get the story on the problems being experienced by the other former giants.

It is worth bearing in mind that such companies can make a comeback. It is difficult for some older, blue chip companies to adjust to the new realities of their industry and market. However, many manage to make the changes necessary to become competitive again.

The best thing to do in the specific case of the 5 companies above is to sell your shares in them now and re-evaluate their standing next year.