The Daily Dow
Friday, November 14, 1997
by Robert Sheard

LEXINGTON, KY. (Nov. 14, 1997) -- You've read the Harper's Index, haven't you? Well, I don't pretend that I'm going to present you anything quite as clever today. But how about some Dow Fun Facts? You would? Great! Cause here they come...

The following statistics are based on the current thirty Dow stocks, even though they weren't all in the Dow in previous years. Performance numbers are through Wednesday, November 12.

The average Trailing Twelve-Month Price/Earnings Ratio is 21.2.

The average Market Capitalization is $58.85 billion.

The average Cash on Hand is $2.3 billion.

The average Price/Sales Ratio is 1.86.

The average Cash Flow Per Share is $5.52.

The average Operating Margin is 18.82%.

The average return over the past quarter is -6.48%. The best is AT&T <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: T)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: T)") end if %>, with a gain of 18.65%. The worst is Sears <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: S)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: S)") end if %>, with a loss of 25.31%.

The average return over the past six months is 2.70%. The best is AT&T, a gain of 44.55%. The worst is Eastman Kodak <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: EK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: EK)") end if %>, a loss of 24.14%.

The average return year-to-date is 17.86%. The best is Wal-Mart <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WMT)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WMT)") end if %>, a gain of 67.79%. The worst is Kodak, a loss of 21.99%.

The average return over the past twelve months is 26.67%. The best is American Express <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AXP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AXP)") end if %>, a gain of 68.21%. The worst is Kodak, a loss of 23.15%.

The average annualized return over the past three years is 27.00%. The best is Travelers Group <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: TRV)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: TRV)") end if %>, an annualized gain of 59.91%. The worst is AT&T, an annualized loss of 1.29%.

The average annualized return over the past five years is 21.77%. The best is Travelers Group, an annualized gain of 46.94%. The worst is Wal-Mart, an annualized gain of 3.56%.

The average annualized return over the past ten years is 17.70%. The best is Coca-Cola <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: KO)") end if %>, an annualized gain of 29.52%. The worst is Kodak, an annualized gain of 6.96%.

Profound? Not! But once in a while I just like to throw numbers around and see what they look like. Besides, it's Friday, ugly and gray outside, and cabin fever is a real danger. Have a Foolish weekend!

TODAY'S NUMBERS
Stock  Change   Last
--------------------
T    -  11/16  48.19
GM   -1  1/16  61.19
CHV  +1 15/16  83.94
MMM  -   5/16  94.75

           
                  Day   Month    Year
        FOOL-4   -0.44%  -0.44%  19.01%
        DJIA     +1.13%   1.75%  17.43%
        S&P 500  +1.28%   1.50%  25.33%
        NASDAQ   +1.66%  -0.62%  22.66%

    Rec'd   #  Security     In At       Now    Change

   1/2/97  153 Chevron       65.00     83.94    29.13%
   1/2/97  479 AT&T          41.75     48.19    15.42%
   1/2/97  120 3M            83.00     94.75    14.16%
   1/2/97  179 Gen. Motor    55.75     61.19     9.75%


    Rec'd   #  Security     In At     Value    Change

   1/2/97  479 AT&T       19998.25  23081.81  $3083.56
   1/2/97  153 Chevron     9945.00  12842.44  $2897.44
   1/2/97  120 3M          9960.00  11370.00  $1410.00
   1/2/97  179 Gen. Motor  9979.25  10952.56   $973.31


                             CASH   $1257.01
                            TOTAL  $59503.82