The 5 Stocks Holding Back the Dow

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 10:58AM EST · Published Apr 10, 10:10AM EDT

Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google

This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

The 5 Stocks Holding Back the Dow — © Wikimedia Commons

As we enter the second quarter of 2016, this market cycle has been relatively complex, and it has been generally hard to get a good read on what direction the market is going. In just the past three months we saw oil prices fall into the $20 range and then recover slightly, the Federal Reserve delay its rate hike until potentially June, and even currency fluctuations in Europe and China. But after much waiting, the broad markets and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) in particular have made it back into the green.

Although the year got off to a slow start, it has taken about three months for the DJIA to go positive. The push to positive was in fact made by the Dogs of the Dow, but this push was stalled for some time by a few laggards, mainly the financial companies in the index.

Out of the 30 Dow stocks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) continues to lead the list as the worst performer in 2016. Year to date, its stock has dropped about 16%, tacking on about 4% this past week alone. Shares of Goldman Sachs closed trading at $150.24 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $188.29 and a 52-week trading range of $139.05 to $218.77.

American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) has now solidified its role as second worst performer, with the stock down about 14% year to date, with the stock dropping nearly 4% last week. Its shares ended the week at $59.52, within a 52-week range of $50.27 to $81.92. The consensus price target is $63.96.
[recirclink id=325000]
Rounding out the top three worst performing Dow stocks (all financial companies) is JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), as its share price is down close to 12% year to date, losing another 2.5% last week. Shares closed trading on Friday at $57.75, with a consensus price target of $69.29 and a 52-week range of $50.07 to $70.61.

Despite not being one of the financial companies, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is the fourth worst performing Dow stock, with shares down over 11% year to date. Most of this drop was seen from January to mid-February, and then the stock made a slight recovery. Shares of Boeing were trading at $127.83 on Friday’s close, with a consensus price target of $137.95 and a 52-week range of $102.10 to $155.50.

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) completes the list of these companies holding down the DJIA. Although it is not down as much as these others, the Mouse House is one of the larger Dow stocks, relatively speaking. Year to date, the stock is down about 8.5%, with a sizable chunk of that being added this past week. Disney shares closed at $96.46 on Friday, with a consensus analyst target of $108.72 and a 52-week range of $86.25 to $122.08.

About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.