3 Stocks under $5 to Watch

Three stocks that are either going to keep falling or bounce back in 2012 are Patriot Coal (PCX), The Wendy's Company (WEN), and Nokia Corp. (NOK).

How did Patriot Coal (PCX) ever get to under $5, today it closed down 18% to $3.94.  The Wendy's Company (WEN) shares have been stuck under five bucks forever.  Nokia (NOK) shares haven't stop falling for the month and sunk to new 52-week low today of $2.88.  Its a shame all three of these companies have dropped so much in market cap, its why we are taking notice.

Patriot (PCX) is the worst falling knife of the bunch and is now trading under $4.  Over the past 12 months Patriot Coal (PCX) shares have traded between $3.88 and its 52-week high of $24.99.  PCX  shares was murdered today after the coal producer cut its forecast it made last week.  Patriot and the entire coal sector is hurting however PCX is getting hammered the worst.  Coal prices are dirt cheap and its making companies like Patriot struggle to be profitable. 

Wendy's (WEN) shares have crept down to within 5% of its 52-week low.  WEN now pays a 1.7% annual dividend yield and trades at $4.53.   Wendy's is no McDonalds (MCD) or Chipolte (CMG) and its share reflects that.  In the last two years Wendy's has traded between $5.60 and $4.29, never leaving that range.  However Wendy's does have some fans, namely Rocco Pendola.  Check out Wendy's May Be the Next Big Turnaround Story which he published on April 27th.  

Nokia (NOK) can't stop the bleeding, its shares closed at $2.88.  Nokia hasn't traded under $3 since 1996, my how times have changed.  Mastery has gone to bat for Nokia on numerous occasions, the last time on May 11th in Stock to Buy for $3.  If you haven't lost interest already, review that article as our positon has not changed.

MASTERY Bottom line:

Thanks to the recent decline some quality names have fallen under $5.  That includes Wendy's (WEN), Nokia (NOK), and Patriot (PCX).  The bleeding may not be over for all three companies but what needs to be considered is they are all trading at historic lows.

Of the three Mastery prefers WEN first, then NOK, and finally PCX. 

3 STOCKS UNDER $5 TO WATCH