Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Price Target Raised to $138.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) had its target price lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $125.00 to $138.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

WHR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.80.

Whirlpool Price Performance

NYSE:WHR opened at $126.24 on Tuesday. Whirlpool has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $127.69. The company has a market cap of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.44. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $114.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.27.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.45 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Whirlpool will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total value of $626,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,570 shares in the company, valued at $4,343,233.60. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WHR. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its position in Whirlpool by 1.8% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,858,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,513,000 after acquiring an additional 84,574 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 14.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,094,000 after purchasing an additional 258,871 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,591,000 after buying an additional 15,752 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 23.8% in the second quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,402,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,381,000 after buying an additional 269,976 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 1.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,567,000 after buying an additional 18,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

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.