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Why Whirlpool (WHR) Outpaced the Stock Market Today

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In the latest trading session, Whirlpool (WHR - Free Report) closed at $32.64, marking a +2.1% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.49%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.71%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 2.26%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of Maytag, KitchenAid and other appliances had lost 20.77% over the past month, lagging the Consumer Discretionary sector's loss of 7% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.1%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Whirlpool in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.01, reflecting a 51.67% decrease from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $3.99 billion, indicating a 1.07% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $2.25 per share and a revenue of $14.92 billion, representing changes of -63.88% and -3.92%, respectively, from the prior year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Whirlpool. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Whirlpool presently features a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Looking at its valuation, Whirlpool is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 14.21. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 15.06 of its industry.

It's also important to note that WHR currently trades at a PEG ratio of 14.21. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Household Appliances industry had an average PEG ratio of 7.31.

The Household Appliances industry is part of the Consumer Discretionary sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 45, placing it within the top 19% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

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