The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.67%) is having another good day today -- with one glaringly obvious exception.
The Dow as a whole is up 0.3% on yet another piece of welcome economic news -- this time, a strong jobs report with particular emphasis on the service sector. Against that backdrop, it's no surprise to see Walt Disney (DIS -0.55%) jumping 2%, closely followed by consumer-friendly giants Home Depot (HD 0.22%) and Bank of America (BAC 2.06%) at 1.7% each. Theme parks, home imporovement stores, and checking-account managers all benefit directly when more Americans have, you know, jobs.
In all, 23 of the 30 Dow components traded in positive territory at midday. But Hewlett-Packard (HPQ -0.40%) sticks out like a sore thumb with a 6.5% price drop.
That plunge started when CEO Meg Whitman took the stand at a meeting with HP analysts. She acknowledged that her company's financial performance "has not been good" recently, said that it'll "take longer to right this ship than any of us would like," and issued guidance for the next fiscal year well below the Street view.
Ouch. The stock set a new nine-year low in intraday action, even if you account for reinvested dividends, and currently trades below HP's book value. In other words, investors don't think HP's shares are worth the inkjet cartridge that printed them. My bearish CAPScall on this stock is starting to look pretty good.
The Dow is loaded with companies with solid dividend payouts and highly sustainable business models built for the long haul. HP may not be one of them anymore, but the three stocks in this report all have an X factor that makes them stand out from their illustrious Dow peers. The report is free for a limited time, so why not grab your copy right now?
