Maytag Corporation stock reached a new 52-week low today (Wednesday) as analysts expressed concern that the nation’s third largest appliance manufacturer may have trouble competing.
Prudential Equity Group’s Nicholas Heymann wrote in a recent analysis that rising interest rates could cut demand for major appliances and increasing pressure from low-cost competitors could hurt Maytag sales.
Maytag shares closed 53 cents lower at 21 dollars and 71 cents on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock had traded as high as 32 dollars and 21 cents and as low as 22-10 in the past year.
Most of Maytag’s appliances are still made in the United States while the nation’s top appliance manufacturer, Whirlpool, makes more than 20 percent of its appliances in low-cost regions. The analysis says the second largest, General Electric, imports more than half of its appliances sold in the U.S.
From WHO TV