Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Price Target Cut to $79.00

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $85.00 to $79.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price suggests a potential downside of 16.49% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WHR. StockNews.com raised shares of Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet raised shares of Whirlpool from a "d+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.40.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of WHR traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.60. 2,516,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,372,095. Whirlpool has a 1-year low of $91.90 and a 1-year high of $160.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.41 and a 200-day moving average of $113.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.48.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 36.24%. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Whirlpool's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Whirlpool

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WHR. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 27.2% in the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 160.0% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 221 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,310 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 9,582 shares of the company's stock worth $1,281,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 20,816 shares of the company's stock worth $2,783,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.