Top performing stocks of 2006

These 20 stocks produced the largest total returns to shareholders in 2006. For this list, we included only Fortune 500 companies that traded for at least $2.

DirecTV Group (<a href='//money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=DTV'>DTV</a>)
DirecTV Group (DTV)
Total return: 77%
Fortune 500 rank: 160
The satellite TV industry soared in 2006, with huge stock run ups for the two major providers. DirecTV stock rallied as the company did a great job adding new customers and holding on to existing ones, beating out rival EchoStar Communications.

But not all of Wall Street is convinced that the outlook for DirecTV remains optimistic. The company faces competition from cable firms like Comcast who can offer television, high-speed Internet and phone services in one package, while the nature of the satellite broadcast business has prevented the company from offering viewer favorite technology like video on demand. But don't expect DirecTV to wilt in the face of competition. The company should remain a player in the coming years if it can continue doing an effective job retaining its customers and offering attractive content, while serving regions of the U.S., particularly rural areas, that remain neglected by cable providers.

See more Fortune 500 data for DirecTV Group
Allegheny Terex AK Steel OfficeMax Level 3 CarMax Continental Big Lots Agco Cablevision DirecTV GameStop Nucor Emcor Oneok Group 1 Automotive General Motors Lexmark Comcast Manpower
Total return to investors includes both price appreciation and dividend yield to an investor in the company's stock. The figures shown assume sales at the end of 2006 of stock owned at the end of 2005.
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.