Media

Disney Is DJIA's Worst Performing Stock, Down More Than 9%

Thinkstock

This year has not been kind to Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS). The Mouse House’s stock price has dropped 9.39% as of Friday’s closing bell and is one of just five Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks to post a share price decline for the year to date.

Despite investors’ coolness to the stock, analysts have been mostly upbeat, pointing out the company’s strong asset base. Merrill Lynch, for example, is positively buoyant:

We believe Disney shares will outperform peers given their exposure to accelerating Parks & Resorts fundamentals, a surge in free cash flow (aided by the end of a major investment cycle), an increasingly positive Studio outlook, steady growth at Media Networks and improving profitability at Interactive.

Last quarter’s media segment revenues, which includes ESPN, were flat and the company has been bleeding subscribers to the sports network. According to a report from Sports Illustrated, between 2013 and 2015, Disney has lost about 7 million subscribers and about $1.3 billion in revenues.

Disney moved to stop the bleeding by investing $1 billion in video streaming company BAMTech, along with acquiring the right to purchase all the company. An analyst at Hilliard Lyons said that the company’s strategic plan includes “streaming of complementary ESPN-branded content, and potentially other content from Disney’s many brands and businesses.”

That may happen, but it will take time and more investment. Until then, investors are having no trouble resisting Disney’s 1.48% dividend yield, the third-lowest among the 30 Dow stocks.

Shares closed at $95.21 on Friday, down nearly 0.4% on the day in a 52-week range of $86.45 to $120.65. The consensus 12-month price target on the stock is $109.52.

The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)

The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

 

Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

1 https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.