Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Price Target to $74.00

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) had its target price cut by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $76.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 28.76% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Bank of America raised their target price on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

WHR stock traded down $6.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.88. The stock had a trading volume of 811,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,572. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.97. Whirlpool has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $125.68.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 27.67% and a net margin of 2.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 11.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $326,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 7,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 80.6% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 492 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during 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.