Whirlpool announced it is cutting its workforce
The shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) are down 0.7% at $128.66 at last check, after news that the company plans to reduce its workforce by the end of its fiscal second quarter. The home appliances manufacturer stands to lose an estimated $95 million from employee termination costs, with total restructuring charges of $260 to $280 million for 2020.
The 20-day moving average, which has kept a cap on gains since WHR's mid-June drop, is swooping in to catch today's slide. Though steadily rising on the charts for the past three months, the equity is still down 13% year-to-date.
Four out of six analysts carry a tepid "hold" rating on Whirlpool, while the remaining two are split between one "strong sell" and one "strong buy." Meanwhile, although short interest has declined during the last two reporting periods, the 7.69 million shares sold short still account for 12.7% of the stock's available float. In other words, it would take nearly eight days for shorts to buy back their bearish bets.
Though amid light absolute volume, WHR sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 2.05 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio is in the elevated 96th percentile of its annual range, suggesting a very healthy appetite for long puts in the past 10 weeks.