The Walt Disney Company, which many people around the world know simply as Disney, was founded on October 16, 1923 by Walt and Roy Disney. Since then, the company has grown to have a market cap of more than $160 billion as of December 2018. In 1928, the public got to see the first ever Mickey Mouse cartoons released by the studio. Over the next few years, Disney would produce and release many of the most beloved cartoon characters ever known, including Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy.In 1937, the company premiered the first feature-length animated film in the world, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The significance of this film, for the fortunes of the company, cannot be overstated. Disney was taking a huge financial risk by not only trying something that had not been done before but also by making the film during the Great Depression. Luckily, the gamble paid off, as Snow White would go on to become one of the company’s landmark successes and the highest grossing film in the world for quite some time. By the time the company released the film, it had already entered the merchandising business, selling a range of items ranging from dolls and figurines to toothbrushes and books. In 1952, the company announced its plans to build a theme park. To raise the funds that were required to build the theme park, the company’s founders decided to take Disney public in 1957. Since the IPO, Disney stock has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DIS. Still, it wasn’t until 1967 that the company actually commenced construction of their theme park.
In the following decades, Disney continued to build more parks across the world and to expand their cruise lines. They also started to diversify the company’s media interests. In February 1996, the Walt Disney Company purchased Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion, and this included the company’s 80% stake in ESPN. Another major milestone came in 2006 when Disney acquired Pixar, an animation studio that was responsible for films such as “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story” and “Cars.” Marvel Entertainment then became a part of the Disney family in 2009, bringing its iconic superhero line-up to the fold. In yet another coup, Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, and in the process, they gained control of the “Star Wars” franchise. As of the end of 2018, Disney is one of the world’s largest media conglomerates, owning a large number of theme parks and resorts, cable television networks, radio stations and even its own cruise liners. Despite all this, Disney remains true to its roots by continuing to produce thrilling new films and exciting television series.
In 1940, the first Walt Disney Productions stock was issued in the form of 6% convertible preferred stocks. The company’s common stock was traded over the counter prior to its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in 1957. The investors who had purchased Disney common stock over the counter would have seen significant returns during this period. In 1949, the company was trading at $3 per stock, rising to $52 per stock before they were split, two for one, in 1954. DIS paid its first dividend on common stock in 1956.
In 1957, the company held its IPO, with each Disney stock being sold for $13.88. Since then, the company has had 8 stocks splits as follows:
In 2015, Disney announced that it would increase the frequency of payment of dividends from every year to semi-annually. On the 26th of July 2018, the company’s Board of Directors announced a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.84 per stock; the same amount they paid out in January 2018. To this day, Disney continues to build on its four major business segments: studio entertainment, consumer products, parks and resorts, and interactive entertainment.
Although the company has exhibited modest but steady growth from 2010 to 2018, it has not really surged higher due to a variety of factors including changes in the media and entertainment environment, particularly the eroding subscriber base at ESPN. Still, the company is working aggressively to fix the situation, and when strong box office performance and new products are combined with the existing strong competitor performance, 2019 is certain to see volatility that plays nicely into the hands of both short-and medium-term stock CFD traders.
Here are some factors to look out for when trading Walt Disney stocks:
Walt Disney is the largest media and entertainment company in the world, with theme parks spanning the globe, and a continuous stream of blockbuster movies. The Walt Disney name is recognized by nearly everyone in the world, and it is considered as one of the top brands in the world. That makes Walt Disney stocks very popular as well, and millions of stocks are traded every day, giving the stock excellent liquidity. And with businesses in four different segments – studio entertainment, consumer products, parks and resorts, and interactive entertainment – the company is well diversified.
It could be argued that Walt Disney is the best media and entertainment company in the world, but whether or not it has the best stock in the group for trading is never a sure thing. Market action can change rapidly, and the best stock for trading this week may not be the best stock for trading next week. Yet through each cycle Walt Disney does remain a good stock to trade, even if it isn’t the best. And that consistency is an excellent trait that recommends the stock as one to keep on a watch list at all times.
Disney stocks can see often choppy behaviour, and this actually makes the stock useful for short term traders who can take advantage of the frequent changes in direction from the stock. Because reversals are common in Walt Disney stocks traders should always be on the lookout for reversal patterns and signs. Another good strategy for the short-term trader in Disney stocks is the use of moving average crossovers. This is a simple strategy to implement, and one that is quite easy to follow while often yielding excellent performance.