Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

WHR has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Whirlpool Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of WHR stock opened at $120.71 on Monday. Whirlpool has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $126.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. Whirlpool’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.45 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,570 shares in the company, valued at $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 323.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Whirlpool in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 545.5% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.