Man Group plc Makes New Investment in Whirlpool Corporation $WHR

Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 327,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,920,000. Man Group plc owned about 0.50% of Whirlpool at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in Whirlpool during the second quarter valued at $141,801,000. RWWM Inc. boosted its position in Whirlpool by 191.6% in the first quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 2,422,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591,849 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Whirlpool in the second quarter worth about $61,003,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 2nd quarter valued at about $24,601,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,959,000. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WHR. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Whirlpool from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Whirlpool from $59.00 to $52.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $46.33.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WHR opened at $39.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 1.16. Whirlpool Corporation has a 1 year low of $35.45 and a 1 year high of $96.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $39.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.15). Whirlpool had a return on equity of 4.18% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm had revenue of $3.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Whirlpool has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.500-3.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Corporation will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Company Profile

Whirlpool Corporation is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of home appliances, with a product portfolio that spans major categories such as laundry, refrigeration, cooking, dishwashing and small electrics. Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the company designs, produces and distributes its appliances through a network of wholly owned manufacturing facilities, joint ventures and third-party partners. Whirlpool serves both retail and professional markets, offering products under its flagship Whirlpool brand as well as several well-known names including Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir, Amana, Brastemp and Consul.

In its laundry segment, Whirlpool provides top- and front-load washing machines, dryers and combination units designed to balance energy efficiency, capacity and convenience.