Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. TheStreet raised Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital assumed coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.40.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of Whirlpool stock opened at $94.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.68. Whirlpool has a 52 week low of $91.90 and a 52 week high of $160.62. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. CWM LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool by 27.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 160.0% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 14.9% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 47.8% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,281,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 20,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,783,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is 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.