Focus Financial Network Inc. Raises Stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 78.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,182 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Whirlpool by 14.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,094,000 after acquiring an additional 258,871 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15,752 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 1.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,033,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,936 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 903,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,664,000 after buying an additional 11,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 1.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 440,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,099,000 after buying an additional 6,049 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Whirlpool Trading Down 1.2 %

WHR stock opened at $98.34 on Thursday. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $84.18 and a one year high of $135.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of -16.78 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $117.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued 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 previous year, the firm posted $3.85 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.