Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Earns "Underperform" Rating from Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America downgraded Whirlpool from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating, setting a target price of $70.00, indicating a potential downside of 28.56%.
• Other analysts, including Royal Bank of Canada and Wall Street Zen, have also issued lower ratings, with varying target prices reflecting concerns about the company's performance.
• Whirlpool reported a loss in quarterly earnings with $1.34 EPS, missing estimates of $1.54, while experiencing a year-over-year revenue decline of 5.4%.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "underperform" rating reissued by analysts at Bank of America in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $70.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $100.00. Bank of America's target price would indicate a potential downside of 16.56% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Longbow Research raised shares of Whirlpool from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.00.

Whirlpool Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WHR stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $83.89. The company had a trading volume of 4,132,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,034,275. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.85. Whirlpool has a twelve month low of $73.72 and a twelve month high of $135.49. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $93.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -31.66 and a beta of 1.25.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.88 billion. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 0.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth about $82,461,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company's stock worth $207,065,000 after purchasing an additional 659,014 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,468,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Whirlpool in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,788,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,343,000 after buying an additional 350,397 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is 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.