Brokerages Set Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Target Price at $106.50

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the four research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $106.50.

WHR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of WHR opened at $115.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.46. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $111.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.14. Whirlpool has a 52 week low of $84.18 and a 52 week high of $126.30.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.45 EPS. Research analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.08%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is presently 69.03%.

Insider Transactions at Whirlpool

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $626,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,858,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,513,000 after buying an additional 84,574 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 14.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 258,871 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Whirlpool by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,591,000 after acquiring an additional 15,752 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,402,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,381,000 after purchasing an additional 269,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 1.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.