Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 80,932 Shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR)

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in Whirlpool Corporation by 636.7%, acquiring an additional 80,932 shares and now holding approximately 0.17% of the company, valued at $8.44 million.
• Whirlpool's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.34, falling short of analysts' expectations of $1.54, with total revenue at $3.77 billion.
• The consensus rating for Whirlpool stock is a "Hold" with an average target price of $98.83 following various analyst upgrades and downgrades.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 636.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,643 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 80,932 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Whirlpool worth $8,440,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 214,704 shares of the company's stock worth $24,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,930 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 367.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,657 shares of the company's stock worth $8,318,000 after purchasing an additional 57,100 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,161 shares of the company's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144 shares during the period. Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,969 shares of the company's stock worth $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,097 shares of the company's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WHR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Longbow Research raised shares of Whirlpool from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.83.

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR stock opened at $88.32 on Friday. Whirlpool Corporation has a one year low of $73.72 and a one year high of $135.49. The company's fifty day moving average price is $94.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of -33.33 and a beta of 1.17.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.88 billion. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 0.95% and a positive return on equity of 20.81%. Whirlpool's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Corporation will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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