The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is having a fairly average day of trading so far on the ASX boards this Wednesday. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 is in the green, but only just, up 0.04% at 7,446.6 points. But one ASX 200 share is faring far worse today. That would be the Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price.
Blackmores shares are currently in the red today, down 0.56% at the time of writing to $96.06 a share. That's not as bad as it was this morning though. Soon after market open, Blackmores descended as low as $94.72 a share, down almost 1.5%.
So what's eroding investor confidence in this nutrition company's shares today?
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Why is the Blackmores share price in the red today?
Well, it's not entirely clear. We haven't seen any price-sensitive announcements out of the company today. Although Blackmores did release its annual general meeting speeches and presentation to investors this morning.
These speeches and presentations contained no new information on the company's financial or the like. However, they did discuss the arguably awkward situation of its former chair and co-founder Marcus Blackmore and his departure from the Blackmores board last year. The company stated the following on that matter:
[Mr Blackmore's departure] related to a difference of view as to Marcus Blackmore adherence to the principles of respect in the workplace contained in the Blackmores Code of Conduct… The Board had no choice but to disclose this information as some shareholders were better informed than others.
Even so, the company also stated that "We continue to be focused on building a positive and constructive relationship with Marcus Blackmore, as our largest shareholder".
This situation might be weighing on investors' minds today.
Consumer staples shares sold off
But Blackmores' share price woes this Wednesday could also just be the result of some normal market gyrations. Yes, Blackmores shares are underperforming the ASX 200 today. But it's not alone in that malaise.
The entire consumer staples sector is leading the ASX 200 losses so far this Wednesday. Other consumer staples shares like Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL), Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE), and the outlier by far, A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) are all down rather substantially so far today. A2 Milk is leading the losses in this space with a nasty 11.9% drop at the time of writing.
Perhaps the Blackmores share price has just been caught up in a general distaste for consumer staples shares today.
At the current Blackmores share price of $96.06, this company has a market capitalisation of $1.86 billion, with a dividend yield of 0.74%.
