If you wanted to make some serious dough in 2016, consumer electronics and security company public company stock would have been a great option. Overall, the stock price of 48 public companies engaged in the home automation, security, Internet of Things (IoT), and consumer electronics space rose a healthy 22.4 percent in 2016, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrials’ 13.4 percent increase.
The 22 percent growth is a nice comeback from 2015, when CE stocks fell 11.8 percent. In the list of 28 companies, 36 companies had stock price increases, while 12 fell.
The list itself is always evolving. This year, several companies were dropped from the list due to buyouts and in several instances, those companies went private, namely Nortek, ADT and AVAD.
In addition, several larger public companies gobbled up others, such as AT&T buying DirecTV, Samsung acquiring Harman, Johnson Controls acquiring Tyco, and Charter Communications purchasing Time Warner Cable.
SEE RELATED: 2016 Acquisitions & Mergers
New additions to this year’s table are Tessera Technology (acquired DTS), Napco Security Systems, IAC Interactive (owners of HomeAdvisors.com and ServiceMagic), Amazon, Ametek (bought ESP/SurgeX) and Canon (acquired Axis Communications).
2016 Winners
The company with the biggest stock price increase last year was TiVo, which rose a whopping 134 percent. The company was acquired in April 2016 by Rovi Corp., which then melded into the public stock of TiVo. The purchase was for $10.70 per share, which is half the stock price TiVo finished the year. The new company combines TiVo’s user experience and content discovery for traditional television, OTT and on-demand content with Rovi’s strength in guides, personalization, advertising, analytics and cloud services. The new company serves more than 28 million households.
The next “big” winner was Sharp whose stock also more than doubled (up 130 percent), albeit from a tiny $1 per share to $2.30 per share. The Japanese TV panel manufacturer recently flexed its muscle by warning Samsung it would stop providing glass for its flat panel TVs.
Another big stock winner in 2016 was Tessera Technology (up 97 percent) after its acquisition of DTS in September for $850 million. Other companies with significant gains were Logitech (up 65 percent); Alarm.com (up 65 percent) just one year after is IPO, and Charter Communications (up 61 percent) after its acquisition of Time Warner Cable, and Belden (up 57 percent).
Pure-Play Stocks; Highest/Lowest Priced
It is always interesting to look at the “pure-play” stocks that are focused on the custom installation industry versus just being a division in a larger company. Napco Security Systems, for example, had a solid year growing 40 percent. Control4, one of the few pure-play home automation companies on the list, saw its stock grow 40 percent in 2016 to $10.20/share. That is still down from where it started the year 2015 when it sold for $15.37 per share.
The most expensive stocks to buy are Samsung (equivalent of $1,498/share in Korean won), Alphabet/Google ($776/share) and Amazon ($758/share). The cheapest stocks on the list are HH Gregg ($1.42/share), Sharp ($2.30/share) and Toshiba ($2.50/share).
2016 Losers
It’s never a good sign when the economy is cooking and the stock market is setting records, yet your company stock has fallen. Unfortunately, there were a few companies that struggled in 2016.
The biggest loser was HH Gregg, the Indianapolis-based retailer with 200+ brick-and-mortar locations and a solid online etail presence saw its stock fall by 61 percent, from $3.66/share to just $1.42.
You might think it is because “retail is dead,” but Best Buy had a solid 40 percent increase in 2016.
Other companies that saw stock declines were IMAX (down 12 percent) and VOXX International (12 percent decline).
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