1-Star Stocks Poised to Plunge: Winnebago?

Recs

8

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 125,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, motor home manufacturer Winnebago Industries (NYSE: WGO) has received the dreaded one-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Winnebago's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Winnebago facts

Headquarters (founded)

Forest City, Iowa (1958)

Market Cap

$109 million

Industry

Recreational Vehicles

TTM Revenue

$458.61 million

Management

Chairman/CEO Robert Olson

CFO Sarah Nielsen

Return on Equity (average, last five years and TTM)

18.1% and (9.5%)

Competitors

Thor Industries (NYSE: THO)

Fleetwood Enterprises

CAPS members bearish on WGO also bearish on

D.R. Horton (NYSE: DHI)

Lennar (NYSE: LEN)

General Motors (NYSE: GM)

CAPS members bullish on WGO also bullish on

General Electric (NYSE: GE)

Best Buy (NYSE: BBY)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 144 of the 205 members who have rated Winnebago -- or 70% -- believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. Among the entire bearish population are mainlinetramp and TSIF.

Last month, mainlinetramp seemed satisfied as a customer, but also feared for investors: "I own a Winnebago RV (itasca model) and love it. But the company is just in the wrong place at the wrong time with this economy crisis."

In a pitch from one week earlier, TSIF echoes that bearish sentiment and writes:

oversized luxury, non-essential, high ticket item in a recession. Even those who want to tour the U.S. and look for a cheap hot springs resort in the desert and who have anything left of their retirement money will probably be buying these monsters on the "slightly used" market, where bankruptcy repossessions and take my RV please inventory abounds. Although Winnebago bounced out of the troughs of other recessions, (although it nearly collapsed in 1991), this recession with the banking fiasco will not be as kind. Though Winnebago manages Debt and Inventory better than most, the low cash threshold, loyal 2200 employees, and rising accounts payable will put a strain in the company that will take some time to work through.

What do you think about Winnebago, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 125,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.

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Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. Best Buy is a Motley Fool Inside Value and a Stock Advisor selection, and the Fool owns shares of it. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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