General Electric Unchallenged as Dow’s Worst Performer

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) stock posted a dip of about 0.9% last week, not much, but not good enough to shake the company’s ranking as the worst performing Dow Jones industrial average stock for the year to date.

GE shares have lost nearly 17% of their value in 2018 and have fallen nearly 52% during the past 12 months. The second-worst Dow stock so far this year is Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) down 11.8%. That is followed by Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), down about 10%; Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), down 8.8%; and Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) down 7.3%.

The Dow added about 90 points over the course of the last week and closed the week at 25,309.99, a gain of about 0.3%.

Last week’s “big” news from GE came Wednesday when the company’s chief financial officer, Jamie Miller, told a Barclays conference that GE had no intention of selling its stake in Baker Hughes, a GE Company (NYSE: BHGE) anytime soon. That’s good because GE agreed to certain restrictions on selling the oilfield services company when it acquired it in 2016. The restrictions are in force until 2019.

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The news gave the stock a shot in the arm Thursday morning, but by the closing bell shares had dipped back to near Wednesday’s closing price. That may have been the result of Miller’s comment that fiscal 2018 earnings may be at the lower end of the company’s previous guidance of $1.00 to $1.07. A further drop in guidance would be greeted with another mass exodus from shareholders.

GE’s Transportation signed a $1 billion framework agreement with Ukraine on Friday, its largest deal ever with the Eastern European nation. GE will supply 30 of its Evolution Series freight locomotives to Ukrainian Railways, along with additional locomotive kits over 10 years, the rehabilitation of locomotives in the railway’s legacy fleet and long-term maintenance services.

GE shares closed at $14.49 on Friday, in a 52-week range of $14.23 to $30.54. The 12-month consensus price target is $18.57, down $0.14 week over week, with the low target at $13 and the high target at $36.

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