Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

WHR has been the topic of a number of other reports. 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Whirlpool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.50.

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR stock traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $120.71. 1,304,902 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 786,656. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.10. Whirlpool has a one year low of $84.18 and a one year high of $126.30. The company has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Whirlpool had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Whirlpool will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 440,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,099,000 after buying an additional 6,049 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,936 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 14.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,094,000 after buying an additional 258,871 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15,752 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 43,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,421,000 after acquiring an additional 12,697 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

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.