Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.80.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WHR opened at $132.79 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $117.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.46. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Whirlpool has a twelve month low of $84.18 and a twelve month high of $134.54.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Whirlpool will post 12.31 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $626,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 440,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,099,000 after buying an additional 6,049 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Whirlpool by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,567,000 after buying an additional 18,936 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Whirlpool by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,094,000 after buying an additional 258,871 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 43,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after purchasing an additional 12,697 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whirlpool Company Profile

Whirlpool Corporation manufactures and markets home appliances and related products and services in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The company's principal products include refrigerators, freezers, ice makers, and refrigerator water filters; laundry appliances, and commercial laundry products and related laundry accessories; cooking and other small domestic appliances; and dishwasher appliances and related accessories, as well as mixers.