StockNews.com Downgrades Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) to Sell

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America raised their price target 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 dropped their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research 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, Whirlpool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Whirlpool Price Performance

NYSE:WHR traded up $2.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $120.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,304,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,656. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $114.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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. Whirlpool has a one year low of $84.18 and a one year high of $126.30.

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

Insider Activity at Whirlpool

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,570 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 323.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Whirlpool in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Whirlpool in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool by 545.5% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 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.