Investing

The 6 Stocks Punishing the Dow in 2015

American Express
> 2015 YTD: -13.78%
> Dow Weighting: 2.95%

American Express just cannot catch a break in 2015. Its dividend hike is not enough to entice buyers, but the good news is that its valuation is getting dirt cheap. Fresh news that President Ed Gilligan died suddenly on a flight at age 55 has not helped matters. Neither has the loss of Costco. 24/7 Wall St. even highlighted five reasons AmEx shareholders are suffering.

American Express shares were recently trading at $79.72. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $86.04 and a 52-week trading range of $76.53 to $96.24. Its market cap is $81 billion, and the yield is still a paltry 1.4%. The AmEx bull/bear analysis called for a 7.2% gain in 2015.

Procter & Gamble
> 2015 YTD: -12.63%
> Dow Weighting: 2.90%

This is a great company with great brands, making it the largest consumer products giant in the world. Still, it has become too hard to operate a giant of its size with so many brands. So the company is restructuring. It is selling Duracell to Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway, and it has a lot of room to improve. It also has to learn how to combat currency headwinds. Despite P&G’s problems, it is now equal to Kimberly-Clark (or better) in the 10 stocks to own for the next decade. Its dividend ambitions are also expected to keep growing.

Procter & Gamble shares were at $78.39 to end out on May, below the consensus price target of $87.56. The stock has a market cap of $215 billion and a 52-week trading range of $77.29 to $93.89. P&G yields 3.3% now. The bull/bear analysis here called for a 3.8% gain in 2015.

ALSO READ: Has the Endless Growth of Dividends and Buybacks Peaked?

Wal-Mart
> 2015 YTD: -12.45%
> Dow Weighting: 2.75%

Wal-Mart may be a large holding of Warren Buffett, but the world’s largest retailer keeps having issues. You would think a strong dollar would help its profits with lower product costs, but that may also be capping its sales growth. Wal-Mart also keeps fighting the endless growth of dollar stores. What the next driving force will be remains up in the air, and shareholders have decided to step back. If wage pressures keep rising in the United States, it is going to pressure Wal-Mart’s operating costs — and whether more consumer dollars would offset the higher costs remains to be seen.

Shares of Wal-Mart were at $42.27 on Friday’s closing bell, with a market cap of $243 billion. The consensus analyst price target is $80.57, and the 52-week trading range is $72.61 to $90.97. Its yield is roughly 2.6%. Our Wal-Mart bull/bear analysis called for a loss of 1.9% in 2015.

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