Goldman Sachs Down 13%, Worst Among Dow Stocks

For the first two and a half months of 2016, shares in The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) trade down about 12.6% and are the worst performers among the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The financial sector as a group is down just over 7% in the quarter to date.

When the Federal Reserve in December raised its policy interest rate from a range of 0% to 0.25% to a new range of 0.25% to 0.50%, the move was viewed as positive for banks, but it wasn’t until last week’s FOMC meeting announcement that investors began to believe the financial sector would not get pummeled by rate hikes.

The Fed saw stability returning to global markets and a solid increase in energy prices since February as signals that the economy is doing better and that just two rather than four rate hikes are on tap for this year.

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Higher energy prices could stave off credit rating adjustments for many mid-sized and small energy producers that might otherwise default on billions of dollars in loans. The level of junk-rated debt exceeded $110 billion at the end of 2014 and total borrowing, excluding Exxon Mobil and Chevron, is expected to exceed $200 billion when 2015 data become available.

On December 31, 2015, Goldman’s shares closed at $180.23. On Friday the shares closed at $157.60, up about 3.1% for the day and up nearly 2.4% for the week. The stock’s 52-week range is $139.05 to $218.77 and the consensus price target is $190.00. The high target is $245 and the low is $125.

Goldman is the second most heavily weighted stock among the Dow 30, at 6.13%. It has ceded its top weighting to 3M Company, which now carries a Dow weighting of 6.43%.