Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) by 636.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 93,643 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 80,932 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $8,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WHR. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 120.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 77.2% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WHR shares. Longbow Research raised shares of Whirlpool from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (down from $100.00) on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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. decreased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.83.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

WHR opened at $88.32 on Friday. Whirlpool Corporation has a 12-month low of $73.72 and a 12-month high of $135.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of -33.33 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $94.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.77.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted 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). Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 0.95%. The business had revenue of $3.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Corporation will post 9.52 EPS for the current 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.