3M Moves In as Year’s Worst-Performing Dow Stock

By Paul Ausick Updated Jan 11, 9:22PM EST · Published Jul 7, 8:20AM EDT

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3M Moves In as Year’s Worst-Performing Dow Stock — © Wolterk / iStock

The Dow Jones industrial average has a new worst-performing stock this week. Industrial giant 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) snatched the title away even though shares added about 1% in the holiday-shortened week. For the year to date, 3M stock is down 16.1%

The second-worst Dow stock so far this year is Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), which is down 14.4%. That is followed by Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), down 14.1%, Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), down 13.7%, and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA). Of the 30 Dow stocks, 19 are showing a loss to date in 2018.

The Dow experienced a modestly successful week, adding about 185 points over the course of the past week to close at 24,456.48, up about 0.8% from the previous Friday’s close. The Dow closed up less than 1% for the second quarter but down 1.8% for the first six months of 2018.

3M’s new CEO, Mike Roman, took over on July 1, and earlier this week he told Reuters that the company would be hunting for “acquisitions in attractive parts of our portfolio” and, at the same time, looking out for opportunities to divest businesses that are not part of 3M’s “fundamental strengths.”

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The company’s share-price decline may be a victim of trade war fears or maybe a strong dollar, or perhaps it’s just an industrial name that needed to see its valuation come down. 3M has a history of growing its dividend every year (even during recessions) and that sets the company up as a good value play.

The consensus analyst price target on 3M is $212.31, but that consensus target was closer to $240 back in April when shares traded higher. 3M shares are now valued at 17.35 times expected earnings, a lower multiple than investors have had to pay since late 2016.

3M stock closed at $197.46 on Friday, up less than 0.1% for the day, in a 52-week range of $191.44 to $259.77. The 12-month consensus price target on the stock is $212.31. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results on July 24.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.