20 Stocks to Sell Now in 2018

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Most people know that brokerage rankings are overstated because of pressure from publicly-traded companies. No investor relations person wants to see "hold" and "sell" ratings issued for their stock. In reality, a "buy" rating really means "hold." "Hold" ratings really mean "sell" and "sell" ratings mean get out while you still can.

If Wall Street's top analysts are consistnetly giving "hold" and "sell" ratings to a stock, you know there's a serious problem. We've compiled a list of the companies that Wall Street's top equities research analysts are consistently giving "hold" and "sell" ratings too. If you own one of these stocks, consider getting out while there's still time.

This slide show lists the 20 companies that have the highest average analyst recommendations from Wall Street's equities research analysts over the last 12 months.

#1 - World Acceptance (NASDAQ:WRLD)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.0
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $70.6667 (-34.3% Upside)

World Acceptance Corporation engages in small-loan consumer finance business. The company offers short-term small and medium-term larger installment loans, as well as related credit insurance and ancillary products and services to individuals. It also provides automobile club memberships to its borrowers; and income tax return preparation and electronic filing services. In addition, the company markets and sells credit life, credit accident and health, credit property, and unemployment insurance in connection with its loans; and develops and provides computer software solutions for the consumer finance industry. It serves individuals with limited access to other sources of consumer credit, including banks, credit unions, other consumer finance businesses, and credit card lenders. As of May 31, 2017, the company operated 1,327 offices in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, as well as Mexico. World Acceptance Corporation was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

#2 - Stada Arzneimittel (OTCMKTS:STDAF)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.0
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: N/A

STADA Arzneimittel Aktiengesellschaft engages in the development and marketing of pharmaceutical products for the health care and pharmaceutical markets worldwide. It operates through two segments, Generics and Branded Products. The Generics segment provides various generic active ingredients, including Tilidin Naloxone for pain; Atorvastatin for elevated cholesterol levels; Epoetin zeta for anemia; Diclofenac for pain/inflammation; and Pantoprazole for gastric ulcer/reflux. The Branded Products segment offers APO-Go a Parkinson's medicine; Grippostad a cold medicine; Aqualor for rhinitis/sore throat; Snup for rhinitis; and Vitaprost for prostate disease indications. The company is also involved in the wholesale activities in the pharmaceutical market. It serves patients and consumers, doctors, pharmacies and pharmacy chains, hospitals, mail-order companies, buying groups, wholesalers, and other service providers in the health care market, as well as public or private health insurance organizations. The company was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Bad Vilbel, Germany. STADA Arzneimittel Aktiengesellschaft is a subsidiary of Nidda Healthcare Holding GmbH.

#3 - Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG)

Consensus Rating: Hold
Rating Score: 1.5
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $39.00 (-7.2% Upside)

Seritage Growth Properties is a publicly-traded, self-administered and self-managed REIT with 230 wholly-owned properties and 23 joint venture properties totaling over 39 million square feet of space across 49 states and Puerto Rico. The Company was formed to unlock the underlying real estate value of a high-quality retail portfolio it acquired from Sears Holdings in July 2015. Pursuant to a master lease, the Company has the right to recapture certain space from Sears Holdings for retenanting or redevelopment purposes. The Company's mission is to create and own revitalized shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations that provide enriched experience for consumers and local communities, and create long-term value for our shareholders.

#4 - ONE Gas (NYSE:OGS)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.4
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $68.25 (-6.5% Upside)

ONE Gas, Inc. engages in the provision of natural gas distribution services. It also offers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation customers. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK.

#5 - Paramount Group (NYSE:PGRE)

Consensus Rating: Hold
Rating Score: 1.7
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $15.00 (1.5% Upside)

Headquartered in New York City, Paramount Group, Inc. is a fully-integrated real estate investment trust that owns, operates, manages, acquires and redevelops high-quality, Class A office properties located in select central business district submarkets of New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Paramount is focused on maximizing the value of its portfolio by leveraging the sought-after locations of its assets and its proven property management capabilities to attract and retain high-quality tenants.

#6 - Yingli (NYSE:YGE)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.0
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $2.00 (20.5% Upside)

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, assembles, sells, and installs photovoltaic (PV) products. The company offers polysilicon ingots and blocks, polysilicon wafers, PV cells, PV modules, and integrated PV systems; and develops and operates solar projects. It is also involved in import and export trading activities; and the provision of research and experimental development on electronics. The company primarily sells its PV modules to distributors, wholesalers, power plant developers and operators, and PV system integrators under the Yingli and Yingli Solar brand names in the People's Republic of China, Japan, the United States, Europe, South Africa, Turkey, South Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East, and internationally. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Baoding, the People's Republic of China.

#7 - GNC (NYSE:GNC)

Consensus Rating: Hold
Rating Score: 1.5
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $6.25 (83.8% Upside)

GNC Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer of health, wellness, and performance products. It operates through three segments: U.S. and Canada, International, and Manufacturing/Wholesale. Its products include protein, performance supplements, weight management supplements, vitamins, herbs and greens, wellness supplements, health and beauty, food and drink, and other general merchandise. The company also provides third-party contract manufacturing services. It sells its products under the GNC proprietary brands, as well as under third-party brands. The company operates a network of approximately 9,000 locations under the GNC brand worldwide. It sells its products through company-owned retail stores and its Website GNC.com, as well as third-party Websites; and domestic and international franchise activities. GNC Holdings, Inc. has a strategic partnership and China joint venture agreement with Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Holding Co., Ltd. The company was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

#8 - Wipro (NYSE:WIT)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.4
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $277.00 (5,934.9% Upside)

Wipro Limited operates as an information technology (IT), consulting, and business process services company worldwide. The company's IT Services segment provides a range of IT and IT-enabled services, which include digital strategy advisory, customer centric design, technology consulting, IT consulting, custom application design, development, re-engineering and maintenance, systems integration, package implementation, infrastructure services, analytics services, business process services, research and development, and hardware and software design services to enterprises. This segment serves customers in various industry verticals comprising banking, financial services, and insurance; healthcare and life sciences; consumer business units; energy, natural resources, and utilities; manufacturing and technology; and communications. Its IT Products segment distributes third-party IT products comprising enterprise platforms, networking solutions, software products, data storage, contact center infrastructure, enterprise security, IT optimization technologies, video solutions, and end-user computing solutions. This segment sells its products through direct sales force to enterprises in various industries, including government, defense, IT and IT-enabled services, telecommunications, manufacturing, utilities, education, and financial services. The company also operates crowdsourcing marketplace, which connects various designers, developers, and data scientists with customers via online computer programming competitions hosted on its platform. Wipro Limited has a collaboration with Red Hat, Inc. to set up a cloud application factory that offers developers and IT teams a methodology for application modernization across public, private, and hybrid clouds. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, India.

#9 - W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.3
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $5.4167 (-27.1% Upside)

W&T Offshore, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas producer, acquires, explores for, and develops oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico. The company sells crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. It holds working interests in approximately 49 offshore fields in federal and state waters. The company also owns interests in approximately 135 offshore structures. It has interests in offshore leases covering approximately 370,000 net acres spanning across the Outer Continental Shelf off the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. As of December 31, 2017, its total proved reserves were 74.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. W&T Offshore, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

#10 - Washington Prime Group (NYSE:WPG)

Consensus Rating: Hold
Rating Score: 1.5
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $7.00 (-6.0% Upside)

Washington Prime Group Inc. is a retail REIT and a recognized leader in the ownership, management, acquisition and development of retail properties. The Company combines a national real estate portfolio with an investment grade balance sheet, leveraging its expertise across the entire shopping center sector to increase cash flow through rigorous management of assets and provide new opportunities to retailers looking for growth throughout the U.S. Washington Prime Group^® is a registered trademark of the Company. Learn more at www.washingtonprime.com.

#11 - ADMIRAL Grp/ADR (OTCMKTS:AMIGY)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.0
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: N/A

Admiral Group plc provides car insurance products primarily in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, and the United States. The company operates through four segments: UK Car Insurance, International Car Insurance, Price Comparison, and Other. It underwrites car insurance and other insurance products; offers van insurance and associated products primarily to small businesses, as well as general insurance products; and provides household insurance, and commercial vehicle insurance broking services. The company also operates price comparison Websites, including Confused.com in the United Kingdom, compare.com in the United States, leLynx.fr in France, and rastreator.com and seguros.es in Spain. It offers its insurance products primarily under Admiral, Balumba, Bell, Diamond, Elephant, Elephant Auto, Gladiator, L'Olivier, and Qualitas Auto, as well as through online and by telephone. Admiral Group plc was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Cardiff, the United Kingdom.

#12 - Pengrowth Energy (NYSE:PGH)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.3
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 4 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: N/A

Pengrowth Energy Corporation engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas assets in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia provinces in Canada. The company explores for crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, shale gas, and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing properties are the Lindbergh thermal property covering an area of 20,800 net acres situated in Calgary, Alberta; and the Groundbirch property covering an area of 12,536 net acres located in Fort St. John, British Columbia. As of December 31, 2017, the company had 239 net producing oil and natural gas wells; and 577 net non-producing wells, as well as total proved plus probable reserves of 446.6 millions of barrels of oil equivalent. Pengrowth Energy Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

#13 - LATAM Airlines Group (NYSE:LTM)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.4
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $17.00 (34.2% Upside)

LATAM Airlines Group S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides passenger and cargo air transportation services in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania. The company operates in two segments, Air Transportation; and Coalition and Loyalty Program Multiplus. It provides passenger transport services to approximately 137 destinations in 24 countries and cargo services to approximately 144 destinations in 29 countries with a fleet of 307 aircraft. The company was formerly known as LAN Airlines S.A. and changed its name to LATAM Airlines Group S.A. in June 2012. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. was founded in 1929 and is based in Santiago, Chile.

#14 - Next (OTCMKTS:NXGPF)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.4
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: N/A

NEXT plc engages in the retail of clothing, footwear, accessories, and home products for men, women, and children in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates a chain of approximately 540 stores under the name NEXT Retail in the United Kingdom and Eire. It also offers products through NEXT Directory, an online and catalogue shopping business with approximately 4.5 million active customers, as well as international Websites serving approximately 70 countries. In addition, the company operates approximately 200 franchised stores under the NEXT International Retail name worldwide; and designs and sources NEXT branded products, as well as designs and sells younger women's fashion products under Lipsy brand name. Further, it provides property management services, including holding and lease of properties. The company was formerly known as J Hepworth & Son and changed its name to NEXT plc in 1986. NEXT plc was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Enderby, the United Kingdom.

#15 - Evotec A.G. (OTCMKTS:EVTCY)

Consensus Rating: Hold
Rating Score: 2.0
Ratings Breakdown: 1 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: N/A

Evotec AG provides drug discovery and development solutions to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, foundations, and not-for-profit organizations worldwide. The company operates through two segments, EVT Execute and EVT Innovate. It offers drug discovery services, such as integrated services, target identification and validation, hit identification, compound management, chemistry, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, research informatics and in silico drug discovery, proteomics and metabolomics, cell and protein production, and in vivo and in vitro pharmacology services, as well as absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity services. The company is also involved in investing and developing proprietary assets, including early-stage discovery programmes, as well as advanced drug candidates in the areas of diabetes and diabetic complications, inflammatory diseases, neuroscience, oncology, and pain and anti-infective. Evotec AG was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.

#16 - NorthWestern (NYSE:NWE)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.4
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 3 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $54.75 (0.9% Upside)

NorthWestern Corporation, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, provides electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The company operates through Electric Operations and Natural Gas Operations segments. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity; and produces, stores, transmits, and distributes natural gas, as well as owns municipal franchises to provide natural gas service in the communities. The company's electric transmission and distribution network consists of approximately 24,660 miles of overhead and underground transmission and distribution lines, as well as 385 transmission and distribution substations in Montana; and transmission and distribution network comprises of approximately 3,560 miles of overhead and underground transmission and distribution lines, as well as 126 substations in South Dakota. Its natural gas transmission system consists of approximately 2,100 miles of pipeline. The company serves approximately 718,300 customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, the United States. NorthWestern Corporation was founded in 1923 and is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

#17 - Technology Investment Capital (NASDAQ:OXSQ)

Consensus Rating: Hold
Rating Score: 1.7
Ratings Breakdown: 1 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 2 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $5.50 (-21.4% Upside)

TICC Capital Corp. is a business development company, operates as a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company. The firm invests in both public and private companies. It invests in secured and unsecured senior debt, subordinated debt, junior subordinated debt, preferred stock, and common stock. The firm primarily invests in debt and/or equity securities of technology-related companies that operate in the computer software, Internet, information technology infrastructure and services, media, telecommunications and telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, hardware, technology-enabled services, semiconductor capital equipment, medical device technology, diversified technology, and networking systems sectors. It concentrates its investments in companies having annual revenues of less than $200 million and a market capitalization or enterprise value of less than $300 million. The firm invests between $5 million and $30 million per transaction. It seeks to exit its investments within 7 years. It serves as the investment adviser to TICC. TICC Capital Corp., formerly known as Technology Investment Capital Corp., was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.

#18 - Ecopetrol (NYSE:EC)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.4
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 5 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $10.6667 (-50.5% Upside)

Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated oil and gas company. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Petrochemical, and Biofuels; and Transport and Logistics. The company produces crude oil and gas; and engages in the extraction, collection, treatment, storage and pumping or compression of hydrocarbons. It also transports and distributes hydrocarbons, derivatives, and products. The company has 8,500 kilometers of transportation pipeline systems. In addition, it commercializes crude oils and by-products, including fuel oil, virgin naphtha, cracked naphtha, aviation gasoline, and others; produces and markets polypropylene resin, compounds, and masterbatches; provides financing services; and offers refined and petrochemical products, as well as industrial service sales to customers. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was founded in 1948 and is based in Bogotá, Colombia.

#19 - Waddell & Reed Financial (NYSE:WDR)

Consensus Rating: Sell
Rating Score: 1.4
Ratings Breakdown: 0 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 4 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $20.2857 (3.5% Upside)

Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides investment management and advisory, investment product underwriting and distribution, and shareholder services administration to mutual funds, and institutional and separately managed accounts in the United States. The company acts as an investment adviser for institutional and other private investors, and provides sub advisory services to other investment companies; and underwrites and distributes registered open-end mutual fund portfolios. It also offers fee-based asset allocation investment advisory products to advisors channel customers; distributes business partners' variable annuity products, and retirement and life insurance products to advisors channel customers; and sells life insurance and disability products underwritten by various carriers. The company distributes investment products through its wholesale channel comprising other broker/dealers, various retirement platforms, and registered investment advisors, as well as through independent financial advisors; and markets investment advisory services to institutional investors directly or through consultants. Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. was founded in 1937 and is based in Overland Park, Kansas.

#20 - UMC (NYSE:UMC)

Consensus Rating: Hold
Rating Score: 1.5
Ratings Breakdown: 2 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 7 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $2.10 (-22.2% Upside)

United Microelectronics Corporation provides semiconductor wafer foundry solutions. It provides circuit design, mask tooling, wafer fabrication, and assembly and testing services. The company also engages in the research, development, and manufacture of products in the solar energy and LED industries. It primarily serves fabless design companies and integrated device manufacturers. The company operates primarily in Taiwan, Singapore, China, Japan, Europe, and the United States. United Microelectronics Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

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