Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Reaches New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $125.00 to $138.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Whirlpool traded as high as $127.32 and last traded at $126.27, with a volume of 528620 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $120.67.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.80.

Insider Activity at Whirlpool

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $626,880.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 323.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Whirlpool during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 545.5% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Whirlpool Stock Up 4.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $114.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.44.

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

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.