1,104 Publicly Traded Companies are Very Weak, Harboring Excessive Risk for Investors, According to Weiss Ratings.Business Editors PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2002 Low Weiss Risk Ratings of Large Household Names History Formation (1998-2000) Household Names have been together since 1998, with various members rotating throughout the line-up with singer, Jason Garcia, until it was solidified in the summer of 2000 with bassist/keyboardist, Chris Peters, and drummer, C. J. Show "Big" Does not Mean "Safe" Some of America's largest and best-known Adj. 1. best-known - most familiar or renowned; "Stevenson's best-known work is probably `Treasure Island'" known - apprehended with certainty; "a known quantity"; "the limits of the known world"; "a musician known throughout the world"; "a known criminal" companies harbor excessive risk for investors, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Weiss Ratings, Inc., the nation's only independent provider of ratings and analyses of financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. companies, mutual funds and stocks. Based on an analysis of 6,485 publicly traded companies publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. , 1,104, or 17 percent, were found to be very weak, receiving a Weiss Risk Rating in the E range, implying a significant risk to investors, suppliers, creditors and employees. Large household names within this group include:
Company Sector Risk Rating
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Amazon.com Inc.
(NDQ:AMZN) Retail E+
Cablevision Sys Corp
(NYSE:CVC) Communications E+
Chiquita Brands International
(NYSE:CQB) Agricultural Products E+
Crown Cork & Seal Co. Inc.
(NYSE:CCK) Manufacturing E+
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Edison International
(NYSE:EIX) Utilities E+
Grace (WR) & Co.
(NYSE:GRA) Chemicals E+
Hastings Entertainment Inc.
(NDQ:HAST) Retail E+
Imclone Systems Inc.
(NDQ:IMCL) Healthcare E+
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La Quinta Properties Inc.
(NYSE:LQI) Lodging E-
Loral Space & Communications
(NYSE:LOR) Communications E+
Paxson Comm Corp. - CL A
(AMEX:PAX) Communications E+
Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc.
(NDQ:PPHM) Healthcare E+
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PG&E Corp.
(NYSE:PCG) Utilities E+
Pizza Inn Inc/Mo
(NDQ:PZZI) Distributors E
Revlon Inc.
(NYSE:REV) Healthcare E+
Rite Aid Corp.
(NYSE:RAD) Retail E-
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Silicon Graphics Inc.
(NYSE:SGI) Computers E+
Sprint PCS Group
(NYSE:PCS) Communications E+
Trump Hotel & Casino Resort Inc.
(NYSE:DJT) Leisure E
US Airways
(NYSE:U) Airlines E-
USG Corp
(NYSE:USG) Construction E+
Wyndham International Inc.
(NYSE:WYN) Lodging E+
Weiss Risk Rating: A = Excellent; B =Good; C = Fair; D = Weak; E =
Very Weak
"Many people automatically assume that 'big' or 'well-known' companies are financially sound," commented Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D., chairman of Weiss Ratings. "Now that some of the big names like Enron Enron A U.S. energy-trading and utilities company that housed one of the biggest accounting frauds in history. Enron's executives employed accounting practices that falsely inflated the company's revenues, which, at the height of the scandal, made the firm become the seventh and Kmart For the Australasian department store chain, see Kmart Australia. "K-Mart" is also a nickname for NBA player Kenyon Martin. Kmart is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. have fallen, however, hopefully more investors will wake up to the need to consider a company's true risk, using reliable, independent sources." The Weiss Risk Ratings are based on the overall financial stability of the company combined with the stock's volatility Volatility 1. A statistical measure of the tendency of a market or security to rise or fall sharply within a period of time. 2. A variable in option pricing formulas that denotes the extent to which the return of the underlying asset will fluctuate between now and the . They incorporate a number of factors including the company's debt level, liquidity, equity position, and trends in these measures. The Weiss Risk Rating is one of the primary components of a company's Weiss Investment Rating, which is a composite composite, alternate common name for Asteraceae or Compositae, the aster family. composite - aggregate evaluation of both risk and performance. By applying its conservative approach to ratings and factoring in risk, Weiss effectively captures the risk/reward trade-off of an investment. Weiss reviews more than 9,000 stocks, including all those traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. , the American Stock Exchange American Stock Exchange (AMEX) Stock exchange in the U.S. Originally known as “the Curb,” it began as an outdoor marketplace in New York City c. 1850. It moved indoors to its present location in the Wall Street area in 1921. , and Nasdaq. Weiss also issues investment ratings on over 11,000 mutual funds, covering both equity and fixed income funds, and provides financial safety ratings on over 15,000 financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies, and brokerage BROKERAGE, contracts. The trade or occupation of a broker; the commissions paid to a broker for his services. firms. Weiss Ratings is the only major rating agency that receives no compensation from the companies it rates. Revenues are derived de·rive v. de·rived, de·riv·ing, de·rives v.tr. 1. To obtain or receive from a source. 2. strictly from sales of its products to consumers, businesses, and libraries. Investors needing more information on the investment quality of a specific stock can purchase a rating and summary analysis for as little as $7.95 through the Weiss Ratings website at www.WeissRatings.com, or starting at $15 by calling 800-289-9222. |
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