The market experienced impressive gains in 2021.  The Dow Jones index gained 18.73%, the S&P 500 rose 26.89%, and the Nasdaq rallied 21.39%.

However, not all stocks were outperformed.  Today I’ll take a look at the five worst performing stocks of the Dow in 2021.  

There five stocks are: Walt Disney Co. (DIS), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), Honeywell International Inc. (HON), Amgen Inc. (AMGN), and Boeing Co. (BA) were the five worst performers in the Dow Jones index.

The Walt Disney Company (DIS)

As one of the top entertainment companies worldwide, DIS operates through two business segments — Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution; and Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products. The company engages in film and episodic production and distribution activities and operates television broadcast networks, studios that produce motion pictures, and direct-to-consumer streaming services. It sells branded merchandise through retail, online, and wholesale businesses and develops and publishes books, comics, and magazines.

On October 28, 2021, ViacomCBS Inc.’s (VIAC) ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) business division entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in Fox TeleColombia & Estudios TeleMexico, the acclaimed Spanish language content producer, from DIS and its founding family. Through this transaction, VCNI will gain access to Fox TeleColombia & Estudios TeleMexico’s studio operations in Colombia and Mexico and many hours of library content. The transaction is expected to help the companies gain more reach in the coming months.

As of October 2, 2021, the company had $15.96 billion in cash and cash equivalents. Over the past year, the stock has lost 13.5% and closed yesterday’s trading session at $156.76.

In terms of forward EV/Sales, DIS is currently trading at 4.04x, 61.5% higher than the 2.50x industry average. In terms of forward EV/EBITDA, DIS is currently trading at 22.89x, 137% higher than the industry average of 9.66x.

DIS’ weak prospects are reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall rating of D, equating to a Sell in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings are calculated by considering 118 different factors, with each factor weighted to an optimal degree.

DIS has a D grade for Value, Sentiment, and Quality. To see additional POWR Ratings for DIS’ Growth, Stability, and Momentum, click here. Of the 18 stocks in the F-rated Entertainment – Media Producers industry, DIS is ranked #14.

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)

VZ is an integrated telecommunications company that provides wireline voice and data services, wireless services, Internet services, and published directory information. The company serves consumers, businesses, and governmental entities worldwide.

In an announcement dated December 16, 2021, VZ and Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL) Google Cloud platform collaborated to bring GOOGL’s compute and storage services to the edge of the VZ’s local network enabling the bandwidth and low latency needed to support real-time enterprise applications. Combining VZ’s private On-Site 5G and private 5G Edge with Google Distributed Cloud Edge will help enterprises unlock the power of 5G and mobile edge computing and gain operational efficiencies and higher levels of security and reliability. The companies expect to witness high demand in the coming months.

For the fiscal 2021 third quarter ended September 30, 2021, total operating revenues in the business segment decreased marginally from the prior-year period to $769 billion. As of September 30, 2021, the company had $9.94 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

The stock has lost 10.7% over the past year and ended yesterday’s trading session at $52.44. VZ’s 2.91x forward EV/Sales is 16.5% higher than the 2.50x industry average. In terms of non-GAAP forward PEG, VZ is currently trading at 3.49x, 165.4% higher than the industry average of 1.31x.

VZ’s POWR Ratings are consistent with this bleak outlook. The stock has an overall rating of C, which equates to Neutral in our proprietary rating system. VZ has a D grade for Sentiment. In addition to the POWR Rating grades I’ve highlighted, one can see VZ’s ratings for Value, Growth, Quality, Stability, and Momentum here. The stock is ranked #7 of 19 stocks in the D-rated Telecom – Domestic industry.

Honeywell International Inc. (HON)

HON operates as a diversified technology and manufacturing company worldwide. The company offers aerospace products and services, control, sensing, and security technologies for commercial buildings, specialty chemicals, advanced materials, process technology for refining and petrochemicals, and energy-efficient products and solutions.

On December 13, 2021, HON agreed to acquire privately-held US Digital Designs, Inc., an engineering firm that designs and develops station alerting and semiconductor robots for the public safety industry. Integrating US Digital Designs into HON’s Fire and Connected Life Safety systems business will expand HON’s line of solutions for public safety communications and securely transmit detailed data about the emergency before first responders even arrive on site. As various efforts are being made to improve the 911 system, this acquisition will help HON benefit in the long run.

The company had $11.09 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021. Analysts expect the company’s revenue to decline 1.4% year-over-year to $8.78 billion in the fiscal 2021 fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021. HON has lost 2.8% over the past year and closed yesterday’s trading session at $206.80.

HON’s 4.46x forward EV/Sales is 118.5% higher than the industry average of 2.04x. In terms of non-GAAP forward PEG, HON is currently trading at 2.16x, 23.7% higher than the industry average of 1.75x.

HON’s POWR Ratings reflect this bleak outlook. The stock has an overall rating of C, which equates to Neutral in our proprietary POWR Ratings system. HON has a D grade for Sentiment. Click here to see the additional ratings for HON (Growth, Stability, Value, Quality, and Momentum). It is ranked #22 of 41 stocks in the B-rated Industrial – Manufacturing industry.

Amgen Inc. (AMGN)

AMGN is a biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers human therapeutics focused on inflammation, oncology/hematology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, nephrology, and neuroscience areas worldwide. The company distributes its products through pharmaceutical wholesale distributors and direct-to-consumer channels.

After receiving approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 20, 2021, AMGN’s Otezla became the first and only oral treatment approved in adult patients with plaque psoriasis for treating adult patients with plaque psoriasis who are candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy. This approval is likely to help AMGN witness great demand from dermatologists in the coming months.

For its fiscal third quarter, ended September 30, 2021, RUN’s loss from operations came in at $137.93 million, representing a 121.8% year-over-year decline. The company’s net loss increased 182.6% year-over-year to $241.33 million. Its EPS came in at $0.11 for the quarter, down 60.7% from the prior-year period. The company had $717.59 million in cash as of September 30, 2021.

The stock has lost 1.4% over the past year and ended yesterday’s trading session at $226.69. AMGN’s non-GAAP forward PEG ratio of 2.04 is 6.8% higher than the 1.91x industry average. In terms of forward Price/Book, AMGN is currently trading at 14.91x, 286.3% higher than the industry average of 3.86x.

AMGN’s POWR Ratings are consistent with this bleak outlook. AMGN has a D grade for Momentum and Sentiment. In addition to the POWR Rating grades I’ve highlighted, one can see AMGN’s ratings for Growth, Quality, Stability, and Value, here. The stock is ranked #5 of 469 stocks in the F-rated Biotech industry.

The Boeing Company (BA)

BA designs, manufactures, and sells commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense systems, human space flight, and launch systems and services worldwide. The company operates through four segments — Commercial Airplanes (BCA); Defense, Space & Security (BDS); Global Services (BGS); and Boeing Capital (BCC).

On December 21, 2021, BA received an order for 19 767 Freighters from United Parcel Service (UPS), multinational shipping and receiving and supply chain management company, highlighting the 767 Freighter’s outstanding operational efficiency and payload capability to serve its customers at a time of robust air cargo demand. BA is looking forward to a long-term partnership with UPS.

For the fiscal third quarter that ended September 30, 2021, BA’s net loss came in at $109 million for the quarter, down 75.7% from its year-ago period. Its non-GAAP loss per share decreased 56.8% year-over-year to $0.60. The company had $9.76 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021.

The stock has lost 2.9% over the past month and ended yesterday’s trading session at $207.86. BA’s 2.48x forward EV/Sales is 21.3% higher than the 2.04x industry average. In terms of forward EV/EBITDA, BA is currently trading at 37.94x, 197.9% higher than the industry average of 12.74x.

It’s no surprise that BA has an overall D grade, which equates to Sell in our POWR Ratings system. The stock also has a D grade for Stability and Sentiment. Click here to see additional POWR Ratings for BA’s Value, Quality, Momentum, and Growth. BA is ranked #59 of 74 stocks in the D-rated Air/Defense Services industry.

DIS shares were trading at $156.35 per share on Tuesday afternoon, down $0.41 (-0.26%). Year-to-date, DIS has gained 0.94%, versus a 0.66% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Sweta Vijayan

Sweta is an investment analyst and journalist with a special interest in finding market inefficiencies. She’s passionate about educating investors, so that they may find success in the stock market. More...

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