Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Price Target Raised to $138.00

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) had its target price upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

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

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of Whirlpool stock opened at $128.88 on Tuesday. Whirlpool has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $130.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $115.66 and its 200 day moving average is $106.59. The stock has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 323.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the second quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 56.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 319 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Whirlpool

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.