General Electric Mired in Position as Worst DJIA Stock for 2017

Industrials

Published: November 25, 2017 7:36 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 6:03 am

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) shares had a quiet week after dropping 11% in the previous week following CEO John Flannery’s investor presentation. The shares dipped just 0.33% in the holiday-shortened week, keeping GE firmly in place as the worst performing equity on the Dow Jones Industrial Average index with a year-to-date loss of more than 42%.

This is GE’s nineteenth consecutive week as the Dow’s worst performer. The company still has a big lead over the second worst stock, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), down almost 12% for the year, and third-worst Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), now down nearly 10%. Only 8 of the 30 Dow stocks have traded down so far this year.

The DJIA and the two other major indexes posted all-time highs on Tuesday as tech stocks blew through the ceiling. As of Tuesday, the S&P tech index had increased nearly 39% for the year, more than double the 16% jump in the S&P 500.

On Tuesday, GE director James Tisch, who is also CEO of Loew’s Corp. (NYSE: L) reported the purchase of $53.7 million in GE stock to add to Loew’s portfolio. According to a report at Barron’s, Tisch paid between $17.82 and $17.99 per share, not too far from the multi-year low.

Tisch’s purchase comes on the heels of a $1.1 million purchase of GE shares by CEO John Flannery and a $990,000 share purchase by board member Francisco D’Souza, CEO of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: CTSH).

GE’s Aviation segment also signed a contract to supply 22 engines to the U.S. Marine Corps for a total value of $143 million. The Power segment signed a $400 million deal with the government of Iraq to build 14 electric substations using the company’s own equipment.

ALSO READ: The 4 Segments GE Is Likely to Dump First

GE’s shares closed up about 0.2% Friday at $18.19 in a 52-week range of $17.46 to $32.38. The consensus 12-month price target on the stock is $23.00, down about $0.50 from last week’s target. The low end of the price target range slipped to $15 at Deutsche Bank, which maintained its Sell rating on the stock. The high end was unchanged at $36.

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