For every market darling like Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP), there's likely to be an ASX share that investors love to hate.
Three shares in particular stand out at the moment as being unloved by the market at large. But will a turnaround in fortunes come in 2017 to shift investor sentiment positively?
Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE)
This aged care operator certainly had a year to forget in 2016. Its shares have fallen 63% in the last 12 months for a variety of reasons. Chief among them was the company's substantial profit downgrade just a matter of weeks after providing its original profit guidance. As I'm not convinced that Estia is over the worst of it yet, I would opt for an investment in rival Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC) instead at this point.
Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)
Although this department store operator has been the most shorted share on the ASX for many months now, I'm starting to become a little more optimistic on its future. At the end of last year Myer provided a first-quarter trading update which revealed a 1.6% lift in same store sales. This was the fifth consecutive quarter of same store sales growth and potentially a sign that its turnaround strategy could be working. I expect Myer to have had a strong Christmas, which could see second-quarter sales surprise. Short sellers might want to be careful.
Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW)
Unfortunately, I think this supermarket giant's turnaround still needs time and as such I'm not confident that 2017 will be much better than last year. The streamlining of its business operations and offloading of non-core assets will help the company moving forward, but competitive pressures from rival supermarkets could prove to be a challenge. Especially if we see Amazon enter the Australian market with its grocery business.
