Least Volatile Stocks Over the Last Decade

jamesmith

Least Volatile Stocks Over the Last Decade
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 04:36PM

In the Barron's Streetwise column this weekend, Michael Santoli featured a list that we provided of the ten least volatile S&P 500 stocks over the last decade.  Below is a table that expands the list to the forty least volatile S&P 500 names.  These are current S&P 500 stocks that have the smallest difference between their high price and low price over the last decade.

As shown, Wal-Mart (WMT) has been the least volatile stock over the last ten years with a 10-year hi/lo spread of just 54.07%.  Its 10-year high is $63.94, while its 10-year low is $41.50.  Just six other S&P 500 stocks have a 10-year hi/lo spread that is less than 100% -- KMB, PGN, JNJ, SCG, KO and ED.  Other notables on the list of least volatile stocks include Microsoft (MSFT), UPS, Verizon (VZ), 3M (MMM), Procter & Gamble (PG), and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/B).