Bed Bath & Beyond and 2 Widely Held Consumer Stocks on the S&P 500 Loser List

Consumer stocks (NYSE:XLY) are facing a letdown today. This mornings retail sales data was worse than Wall Street expected, so the sector has come under pressure. Here are three stocks at the bottom of the S&P loser list today.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY): The chain of retail home furnishing stores had a return of 17% in 2011 and beat the S&P500’s return of 3% over the same period. However, concerns about the retail sector is holding the stock back today. BBBY shares recently traded at $59.80, down $1, or 1.64%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $44.79 to $63.83. Volume today was 3,719,862 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 2,351,760 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 16.01, while trailing earnings are $3.74 per share.

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Pulte Group Inc. (NYSE:PHM) pulled back after homebuilders had a strong few days on Lennar sales data. PHM shares recently traded at $7.69, down $0.01, or 0.13%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $3.29 to $8.69. Volume today was 11,637,139 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 12,257,500 shares. The company’s trailing earnings are $-1.03 per share.

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR): The stock has lost 42% over the last year. Whirlpool is taking a hit as a result of CIT’s decision to stop financing Sears transactions. WHR shares recently traded at $52.01, up $0.18, or 0.35%. They have traded in a 52-week range of $45.22 to $92.28. Volume today was 3,038,788 shares versus a 3-month average volume of 1,953,590 shares. The company’s trailing P/E is 11.43, while trailing earnings are $4.55 per share.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Gillette at staff.writers@wallstcheatsheet.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Damien Hoffman at editors@wallstcheatsheet.com