Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $130.85 and last traded at $131.81, with a volume of 631779 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $128.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.80.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $116.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.29.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Whirlpool

In related news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $626,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Whirlpool

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Whirlpool by 46.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 981,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,304,000 after buying an additional 312,729 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 240.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 375,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,125,000 after purchasing an additional 265,418 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 14.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,094,000 after purchasing an additional 258,871 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 84.4% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 532,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,418,000 after purchasing an additional 243,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 335.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 188,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,170,000 after purchasing an additional 145,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Company Profile

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.