3 Shares the FTSE Should Beat Today

LONDON -- The FTSE 100 is flat today, down a fraction of a point to 5,914. The index has enjoyed a few weeks of gains and is way up from the 12-month low of 5,229 points that it dipped to in June.

There's not a huge amount of movement in individual share prices either today, but there are a few not doing so well. Here are three that are falling.

Greggs
Shares in high-street baker Greggs slipped 2.7% to 473 pence after the firm told us that chief executive Ken McMeikan is to leave the company to take up the same role at Brakes Group. McMeikan will stay in his current role until the search for a replacement has concluded.

Greggs shares have had a somewhat erratic year and are currently trading about 5% below their price of 12 months ago. But full-year forecasts for this year and next are reasonably positive, with a dividend yield in excess of 4% expected.

Eurasian Natural Resources
Eurasian Natural Resources shares fell further today, down another 2.6% to 276 pence after the firm announced the acquisition of the remaining 49.5% of the shares in Camrose Resources. The reason was given as "simplifying the group's organizational structure and consolidating its position within the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

Eurasian shares are now down more than 60% from this year's peak price of 750 pence set in January as it suffers a year of falling earnings.

Coal of Africa
It's not been a good day for commodities producers. Coal of Africa shares lost further ground, falling 8% to 11.5 pence following an environmental dispute concerning the Mapungubwe region. The firm had a memorandum of understanding with the Save Mapungubwe Coalition, but the coalition has withdrawn after airing claims that Coal of Africa has been, and still is, not in compliance with water legislation and that there are other "detrimental impacts."

Coal of Africa shares are now worth just 15% of their 2012 high of 74.5 pence, reached at the end of February.

Finally, how does Britain's ace investor Neil Woodford avoid share price falls? He goes for a strategy of buying solid blue-chip shares paying dependable long-term dividends. And in doing so, he's built a record of beating the FTSE for nine straight years. If you want to see how Woodford manages to beat the market, the free Motley Fool report "8 Shares Held By Britain's Super Investor" takes a look at some of his key holdings. To get your copy, click here while it's still available.

The article 3 Shares the FTSE Should Beat Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

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