Short Interest in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Declines By 18.2%

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,260,000 shares, a decline of 18.2% from the June 30th total of 5,210,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,510,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 8.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Whirlpool by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Whirlpool by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Whirlpool by 2.6% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Whirlpool by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:WHR traded down $2.04 on Friday, hitting $99.53. 1,072,848 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,104,422. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. Whirlpool has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $148.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.62. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.39. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 27.67% and a net margin of 2.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.21 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Whirlpool from $63.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Whirlpool from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.50.

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.