StockNews.com Lowers Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) to Hold

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

WHR has been the subject of several other reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.40.

Whirlpool Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Whirlpool stock opened at $94.60 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $109.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.48. Whirlpool has a 1 year low of $91.90 and a 1 year high of $160.62.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 35.16% and a net margin of 2.07%. Whirlpool’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 13.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Whirlpool by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Whirlpool by 159.5% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 27,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,283,000 after purchasing an additional 16,869 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth $342,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Whirlpool by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,611,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Finally, LHM Inc. boosted its position in Whirlpool by 496.3% during the 1st quarter. LHM Inc. now owns 20,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,430,000 after purchasing an additional 16,904 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.