Why Whirlpool Corporation (WHR), Stericycle Inc (SRCL) and VF Corp. (VFC) Are 3 of Today’s Worst Stocks

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Picking up where they left off on Thursday, the bulls charged again on Friday despite having no major news to fan the buying flames. The S&P 500 ended the session at 2,075.15, up 1.1%, and above the critical 200-day moving average line.

It wasn’t a bullish day for all stocks, however. VF Corp. (NYSE:VFC), Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) and Stericycle Inc. (NASDAQ:SRCL) were all snared by their own earnings reports. Here’s the deal.

Stericycle Inc (SRCL)

Medical waste disposal company Stericycle didn’t do especially well last quarter. When all was said and done, earnings of $1.08 per share came up short of the profit of $1.18 per share of SRCL analysts were expecting. And, revenue of $718.6 million missed analysts’ mark of $734.6 million.

While a shortfall, it’s not one that quite explains a whopping 19% plunge in the price of SRCL … until one looks at the stock’s valuation.

With a trailing P/E near 34 and a forward-looking one into the 20’s, there was no room for Stericycle to do anything but at least meet estimates.

VF Corp. (VFC)

SRCL wasn’t the only name to become a big victim of a small earnings stumble. Clothing company VF Corp. also failed to live up to expectations last quarter, and VFC shareholders paid the price for it in the form of a 13% pullback for the stock.

When all was said and done, VF posted a profit of $1.07 per share on revenue of $3.58 billion. Analysts, however, were calling for income of $1.12 per share of VFC stock and sales of $3.67 billion.

The bulk of the setback for the stock, however, likely stemmed from a combination of weak volume, rising inventory and lowered guidance. With demand for its Vans, North Face and Timberland brands waning, inventory rose 12% on a year-over-year basis.

Worse, the company lowered its full-year profit estimate from $3.22 per share to $3.18 per share of VFC stock. That’s a move in contrast to the $3.24 profit that analysts were still counting on before last quarter’s numbers were unveiled.

Whirlpool Corporation (WHR)

Whirlpool was yet another victim of a disappointing third-quarter earnings report on Friday.

Actually, last quarter’s profit number wasn’t bad. Income of $3.45 per share was better than the consensus estimate of $3.22, and far better than the profit of $3.04 per share of WHR posted in the same quarter a year earlier. But, the top line of $5.3 billion — although up from $4.8 billion a year earlier — still missed analyst estimates of $5.41 billion.

A disadvantageous currency exchange rate was blamed for the core of the shortcoming. In fact, that headwind is so brisk and expected to remain so brisk that Whirlpool was forced to reel in its 2015 full-year outlooks.

Now the company is looking for a profit of between $12 and $12.50 per share of WHR, down from previous guidance of a range between $12 and $13, and down roughly $4 from the previous year’s per-share income.

The same currency headwind will likely shave $2.5 billion in sales off the full year’s top line.

WHR shares closed 9% lower in the news.

As of this writing, James Brumley did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

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Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/10/whirlpool-corporation-whr-stericycle-inc-srcl-vf-corp-vfc-3-todays-worst-stocks/.

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