Bank of America is moving to the sidelines on Whirlpool after the company’s latest results suggest weaker near-term growth. Analyst Rafe Jadrosich downgraded Whirlpool to underperform from neutral. Accompanying the move, he lowered his price target by $30 to $70 to reflect the company’s dividend cut and elevated leverage, he said. Jadrosich’s new price target on the home appliance stock — which is already down roughly 14.5% this year — implies shares could lose another 28.5%. “We expect near-term uncertainty related to slowing discretionary demand, higher promotions, and a volatile environment in international markets to constrain WHR’s valuation multiple in the medium term,” Jadrosich wrote in a Tuesday note to clients. WHR 1Y mountain Whirlpool stock performance over the past year. Whirlpool shares plummeted more than 16% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the company on Monday reported disappointing second-quarter results . Whirlpool missed top- and bottom-line estimates and gave below-consensus guidance for full-year adjusted earnings, as the company came out with lower year-over-year major domestic appliance sales in its North America, Latin America and Asia segments. Jadrosich highlighted that Whirlpool management also recommended that the board approve a reduction in the annual dividend to $3.6 from $7 per share. After results, the analyst expects headwinds to Whirlpool’s North America business will persist through 2025, particularly as tariff tailwinds have not yet materialized in the stock. “Whirlpool has yet to benefit from tariffs on appliance imports despite its favorable US manufacturing footprint compared to peers due to: 1) manufacturers/retailers brought in inventory ahead of tariff implementation and 2) foreign competitors appear more willing to sacrifice margin near-term to hold market share,” Jadrosich said. “If tariffs result in another round of industry price increases, we see risk that volume deteriorates in a weak consumer environment,” he added.
