However, Erie Indemnity bucked the trend. Its stock is ending 2018 up about 9 percent.
In a year in which the stock market lost about 7 percent of its value, the news wasn’t all bad for stocks of local interest in 2018. But it was bad for most of them.
• General Electric Co.: The worst of the news revolves around Boston-based General Electric Co., which is not only one of the area’s top employers, but also the most widely held stock in Erie County, according to local financial advisers.
And, unfortunately, 2018′s bad news was stacked on top of bad news from the previous year when the value of GE stock fell 43 percent during 2017. Surely, 2018 could be no worse, and yet it was.
Bottom line: GE stock, which closed at $16.88 on Dec. 27, 2017, fell nearly 57 percent to close Thursday at $7.27. To add insult to injury, the company, which expects to sell GE Transportation in the first quarter of 2019, recently slashed its quarterly dividend from 12 cents to a penny a share.
• Erie Indemnity Co.: Locally, the good-news story of the year belonged to Erie Indemnity Co., the management company of Erie Insurance.
In a year when all the major indexes were down, Erie County’s largest employer enjoyed a high-profile year locally as it moved ahead with a $135 million construction project and led local efforts to revitalize downtown Erie.
Bottom line: Erie Indemnity stock closed Thursday at $132.09, up 9 percent from a year earlier. An increase in the stock price wasn’t the only good news for shareholders. The company’s board announced earlier this month that it would raise its quarterly dividend 7.1 percent to 90 cents for Class A shares and from $126 to $135 for Class B shares.
The company, which reported third-quarter earnings on Oct. 27, earned $80.4 million during the third quarter and $225.9 million during the first nine months of 2018.
• Walmart Inc.: This retailing giant ranks as Erie County’s sixth largest employer and as the world’s most popular shopping destination.
Bottom line: Walmart closed at $92.01 Thursday, down 7.43 percent from a year earlier.
• FirstEnergy Corp.: The Ohio-based utility company is the parent company of Penelec, the electric utility for Erie and Crawford counties.
Bottom line: The stock closed at $37.45 Thursday, up 22.9 percent for the year.
• Wabtec Corp.: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, which is based in the Pittsburgh area, is poised to take control of GE Transportation through a merger, most likely in the first quarter of 2019.
Bottom line: The stock closed Thursday at $68.95, down 15.4 percent for the year.
• National Fuel Gas Co.: Buffalo-based NFG is the parent company of National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., Erie’s natural gas utility.
Bottom line: The stock closed Thursday at $51.40, down 6.37 percent for the year.
• Northwest Bancshares Inc.: The Warren-based company is the parent company of Northwest Bank.
Bottom line: The stock closed Thursday at $16.67, down 1.3 percent.
• PNC Financial Services Group Inc.: This Pittsburgh-based bank is one of the nation’s largest.
Bottom line: The stock closed at $115.80, down 21.04 percent for the year.
