Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Whirlpool Corporation has received a consensus "Hold" rating from five research firms, with a mixed outlook that includes one sell, two holds, and two buy ratings.
• The average 12-month price target for Whirlpool stock stands at $108.40, with varying projections from analysts based on recent reports.
• Recent earnings results showed Whirlpool's revenue at $3.62 billion, down 19.4% year-over-year, while EPS slightly exceeded expectations at $1.70.

Shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $103.60.

A number of research firms recently commented on WHR. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Whirlpool in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Longbow Research raised Whirlpool from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Whirlpool

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WHR. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 79.1% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 274 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the first quarter valued at $36,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 120.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 40.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 448 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR stock traded down $11.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.30. The stock had a trading volume of 8,702,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,457. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Whirlpool has a twelve month low of $73.72 and a twelve month high of $135.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 616.89 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $92.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.64.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.88 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 0.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Whirlpool will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.