North Carolina Stocks Were Strong Performers in 2013
The fifty largest publicly traded companies headquartered in North Carolina fared very well overall in the 2013 stock market. The Tarheel group gained 28.3%, comparable to the 29.6% put up by the S&P 500.
Note the 2013 returns were much larger than the long-term average.
These NC stocks have return 12.3% per year over the last 5 years, far outperforming the S&P 500 which delivered only 4.8% over the same time period (2008-2013).
North Carolina’s 50 largest publicly traded companies, excluding companies that went public during the year. They are in order by annual revenue.
| Company | Headquarters | 2013 close | 2012 close | 2008 close | 1-year return | 5-year return |
| Bank of America Corp. | Charlotte | $15.57 | $11.61 | $14.08 | 34% | 11% |
| Lowe’s Cos. Inc. | Mooresville | $49.55 | $35.52 | $21.52 | 39% | 130% |
| Duke Energy Corp. | Charlotte | $69.01 | $63.80 | $45.03 | 8% | 53% |
| Nucor Corp. | Charlotte | $53.38 | $43.16 | $46.20 | 24% | 16% |
| VF Corp. | Greensboro | $62.34 | $37.74 | $13.69 | 65% | 355% |
| BB&T Corp. | Winston-Salem | $37.32 | $29.11 | $27.46 | 28% | 36% |
| Family Dollar Stores | Matthews | $64.97 | $63.41 | $26.07 | 2% | 149% |
| Sonic Automotive Inc. | Charlotte | $24.48 | $20.89 | $3.98 | 17% | 515% |
| Reynolds American Inc. | Winston Salem | $49.99 | $41.43 | $20.16 | 21% | 148% |
| Pantry Inc. | Cary | $16.78 | $12.13 | $21.45 | 38% | -22% |
| Laboratory Corp. of America | Burlington | $91.37 | $86.62 | $64.41 | 5% | 42% |
| SPX Corp. | Charlotte | $99.61 | $70.15 | $40.55 | 42% | 146% |
| Lorillard Inc. | Greensboro | $50.68 | $38.89 | $18.78 | 30% | 170% |
| Harris Teeter Supermarkets | Matthews | $49.35 | $38.56 | $27.65 | 28% | 78% |
| Hanesbrands Inc. | Winston Salem | $70.27 | $35.82 | $12.75 | 96% | 451% |
| Ingles Markets Inc. | Black Mountain | $27.10 | $17.26 | $17.59 | 57% | 54% |
| Carlisle Cos. Inc. | Charlotte | $79.40 | $58.76 | $20.70 | 35% | 284% |
| Babcock & Wilcox Co. | Charlotte | $34.19 | $26.20 | N.A. | 30% | N.A. |
| Chiquita Brands International | Charlotte | $11.70 | $8.25 | $14.78 | 42% | -21% |
| Alliance One International | Morrisville | $3.05 | $3.64 | $2.94 | -16% | 4% |
| Old Dominion Freight Line | Thomasville | $53.02 | $34.28 | $12.65 | 55% | 319% |
| Martin Marietta Materials | Raleigh | $99.94 | $94.28 | $97.08 | 6% | 3% |
| Snyders-Lance Inc. | Charlotte | $28.66 | $24.12 | $22.94 | 19% | 25% |
| Coca-Cola Bottling Co. | Charlotte | $73.19 | $66.50 | $45.96 | 10% | 59% |
| Cree Inc. | Durham | $56.04 | $52.96 | $13.22 | 6% | 324% |
| Fresh Market Inc. | Greensboro | $62.52 | $33.98 | $15.87 | 84% | 294% |
| Red Hat Inc. | Raleigh | $40.50 | $48.09 | N.A. | -16% | N.A. |
| Piedmont Natural Gas Co. | Charlotte | $33.16 | $31.31 | $31.67 | 6% | 5% |
| RF Micro Devices Inc. | Greensboro | $5.16 | $4.48 | $0.78 | 15% | 562% |
| EnPro Industries Inc. | Charlotte | $57.65 | $40.90 | $21.54 | 41% | 168% |
| First Citizens Bancshares | Raleigh | $222.63 | $163.50 | $152.80 | 36% | 46% |
| Horizon Lines Inc. | Charlotte | $0.84 | $1.50 | $87.25 | -44% | -99% |
| Fairpoint Communications Inc. | Charlotte | $11.31 | $7.95 | N.A. | 42% | N.A. |
| Cato Corp. | Charlotte | $31.80 | $27.43 | $15.10 | 16% | 111% |
| Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | Raleigh | $89.94 | $40.47 | $8.83 | 122% | 919% |
| Pike Corp. | Mount Airy | $10.57 | $9.55 | $12.30 | 11% | -14% |
| Unifi Inc. | Greensboro | $27.24 | $13.01 | $8.46 | 109% | 222% |
| Polypore International Inc. | Charlotte | $38.90 | $46.50 | $7.56 | -16% | 415% |
| Highwoods Properties Inc. | Raleigh | $36.17 | $33.45 | $27.36 | 8% | 32% |
| Xerium Technologies Inc. | Raleigh | $16.49 | $3.05 | $13.20 | 441% | 25% |
| Speedway Motorsports Inc. | Concord | $19.85 | $17.84 | $16.11 | 11% | 23% |
| Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. | Winston-Salem | $19.29 | $9.38 | $1.68 | 106% | 1048% |
| Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. | Greensboro | $32.02 | $34.20 | $18.81 | -6% | 70% |
| Insteel Industries Inc. | Mount Airy | $22.73 | $12.48 | $11.29 | 82% | 101% |
| Culp Inc. | High Point | $20.45 | $15.01 | $1.98 | 36% | 933% |
| Powersecure International Inc. | Wake Forest | $17.17 | $7.81 | $3.29 | 120% | 422% |
| Hatteras Financial Corp. | Winston-Salem | $16.34 | $24.81 | $26.60 | -34% | -39% |
| Swisher Hygiene Inc. | Charlotte | $0.55 | $1.73 | $0.37 | -68% | 49% |
| Triad Guaranty Inc. | Winston-Salem | $0.27 | $0.07 | $0.38 | 286% | -29% |
| Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. | Cary | $9.49 | $4.73 | $2.65 | 101% | 258% |
| NC 50 OVERALL | 28.3% | 12.3% | ||||
| S&P 500 | 29.6% | 4.8% | ||||
| annualized |
source: Charlotte Observer
