Jim Cramer on Whirlpool: "A Dividend Cut Means Don't Buy"

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer was focused on recently. During the episode, a caller inquired about the stock, noting that it has a 4% yield and is near its 52-week low. In response, Cramer said:

“Whirlpool, it’s kinda like the Bengals. Look, there’s just not enough, the balance sheet’s not that great. They had to cut the dividend. It’s exactly the thing I’m most worried about. A dividend cut means don’t buy, don’t buy, don’t buy.”

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) manufactures and sells home appliances, including refrigerators, laundry machines, dishwashers, and cooking products. During the July 29 episode, Cramer mentioned the company and commented:

“But UPS wasn’t the only one. Whirlpool, which was supposed to be helped by the tariffs at least eventually, instead got walloped by them, crushed. Ugly. Whirlpool’s last man standing when it comes to appliances, the only one that’s still domiciled in this country, but the big appliance makers from South Korea and China, they’re not dummies. They knew they’d struggle with the tariffs on their countries, so they front-loaded their inventory, shipping lots of appliances here ahead of time.

The result, the foreign onslaught crushed Whirlpool. It reported an astonishing weak quarter, taking its earnings forecast down from $10 per share to the $6 to $8 range. Worse, they took a meat ax to their dividend, cutting the quarterly payout from $1.75 per share down to a shocking 90 cents. Let’s call it a collaterally damaged situation because tariffs were meant to help Whirlpool. Instead, they blew up the dividend, which, when you include a dismal outlook, is why the stock was down an astonishing more than 13% today.”

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.