Last week was a positive one for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) at last. The benchmark index rebounded from a selloff a week earlier to rise 1.9% over the period to end it at 7,120.2 points.
Unfortunately, not all shares were able to climb with the market. Here's why these shares were the worst performers on the ASX 200 over the period:
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Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)
The Boral share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a massive 36.1% decline. However, this decline was not driven by anything bad. Quite the opposite! This decline relates to Boral returning a total of $3 billion to shareholders following a series of asset sales. This led to Boral's shares trading ex-capital return on Friday for a total cash distribution of $2.72 per share. This comprises a $2.65 per share capital reduction and an unfranked dividend of 7 cents per share.
Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN)
The Ansell share price was a very poor performer and sank 16.8% over the five days. Investors were selling this health and safety products company's shares after it downgraded its earnings guidance. Due to softening demand and COVID-related operational challenges, Ansell now expects its FY 2022 earnings per share to be between 125 US cents to 145 US cents. This is down materially from its previous guidance of 175 US cents to 195 US cents.
Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)
The HUB24 share price was out of form and dropped 5.8% last week. This was despite there being no news out of the investment platform provider. One broker that would see this as a buying opportunity is Macquarie. A week earlier it upgraded HUB24's shares to an outperform rating with a $32.40 price target. This implies potential upside of over 25% for investors.
Codan Limited (ASX: CDA)
The Codan share price wasn't far behind with a 4.3% decline over the five days. This decline may have been driven by profit taking from some investors after a very strong gain in the previous week. That week, the Codan share price stormed higher despite the market selloff thanks to a very positive trading update.
