Essex Financial Services Inc. Reduces Position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 538 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WHR. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool by 51.5% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 33.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 10,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Whirlpool by 335.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 188,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,170,000 after buying an additional 145,200 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Trading Down 1.2 %

WHR opened at $98.34 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.78 and a beta of 1.43. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $135.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.24.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.80.

Whirlpool 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.