Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America upgraded Whirlpool from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.25.

Whirlpool Trading Up 3.1%

WHR stock opened at $90.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.40 and a beta of 1.18. Whirlpool has a twelve month low of $73.72 and a twelve month high of $135.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.36 and a 200-day moving average of $98.34.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 35.3% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 644 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the first quarter worth about $1,178,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 11.1% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 2.0% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 169,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,316,000 after buying an additional 3,376 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 64.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by 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.