Telecom & Wireless

Verizon Remains DJIA's Worst Performing 2017 Stock for Fifth Straight Week

Paul Ausick

Published: May 20, 2017 8:55 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 11:50 am

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) last week saw its share price drop nearly 1%, holding on to its position as the worst-performing stock among the 30 equities in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. For the year to date, Verizon’s shares are down 14.91%.

The stock price fell to a new 52-week low on Monday at $45.25 per share, and it dipped even lower on Wednesday to another new low of $44.46.

Verizon’s $3.1 billion acquisition of 5G spectrum owner Straight Path is now sorted out to investors’ satisfaction and the company’s acquisition of Yahoo, scheduled to be completed next month, moves to the fore.

The telecom giant is paying about $4.5 billion for Yahoo, $350 million below the original purchase price following the revelation that millions of Yahoo email accounts were compromised. Verizon’s plan to paste Yahoo and AOL together under a new brand called Oath has not generated a lot of enthusiasm among Verizon shareholders.

Verizon gets a bit of a lift from Yahoo’s pending $3 billion buyback of its own shares, raising the value of Yahoo a bit for its soon-to-be-new owner. Verizon is acquiring Yahoo’s web assets, and what remains of Yahoo will be renamed Altaba, a holding company that will own a stake of about 15% in Alibaba and a 35.5% stake in Yahoo Japan.

Verizon stock closed at $45.42 on Friday, up 0.8% for the day. The stock’s 52-week range is $44.46 to $56.95, and the 12-month consensus price target is $50.32. The company’s dividend yield ended the week down slightly at 5.19%.