Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $138.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Whirlpool traded as high as $127.32 and last traded at $126.27, with a volume of 528620 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.67.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,343,233.60. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 440,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,099,000 after buying an additional 6,049 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 holdings 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 holdings in Whirlpool by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,591,000 after buying an additional 15,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 43,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,421,000 after buying an additional 12,697 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whirlpool Trading Up 2.9 %

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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

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.