Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR)

Whirlpool Company (NYSE:WHR) experienced unusually high options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 4,028 puts on the company. This represents a 58% increase compared to an average daily volume 2,551 put option.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Whirlpool's stock rose $1.51 in midday trading Monday to reach $151.24. The average trading volume for the stock is 737,627. 189,524 of its shares were traded. The company's fifty-day simple moving is $143.16, and its two-hundred-day simple moving is $141.17. Whirlpool's 52-week low is $124.10, and its 52-week high is $178.05. The company's quick ratio is 0.63, its current ratio is 1.02, and it has a debt to equity ratio of 3.30.

Whirlpool Alerts

Whirlpool's (NYSE:WHR) latest quarterly earnings report was released on Monday, 24th April. The company's $2.66 per-share earnings for the first quarter exceeded the consensus estimate by $0.52. Whirlpool reported a negative margin of 10.34%, and a positive equity return of 28.28%. Analysts had predicted $4.50 billion in revenue for the quarter. The company's quarterly revenue was $4.65 billion. In the same quarter of last year, the company earned $5.31 in earnings per share. Whirlpool’s quarterly revenue decreased by 5.5% when compared with the same quarter in 2017. Analysts predict an average 16.23 earnings-per-share for Whirlpool in the current year.

Wall Street analysts weigh in

Whirlpool: Insider Deals

Many equity research analysts have commented on WHR's shares. Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Whirlpool shares from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11, and reduced their price target for the company from $150.00 to $160.00. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool in a report published on Tuesday, July 18. StockNews.com began covering shares of Whirlpool on Thursday, 18th May in a research note. The company was given a "hold" rating. Two analysts gave the stock a sell recommendation, three a hold recommendation and one a buy recommendation. MarketBeat data shows that the average rating for the stock is 'Hold,' with an average price target of $130.40.

EVP Juan Carlos Puente, in related news, sold 420 shares on Friday, 26th May. The shares were purchased at an average price $134.16 for a transaction totaling $56,347.20. After the sale was completed, the executive vice-president now owns 17,699 company shares, valued at around $2,374,497.84. The Securities & Exchange Commission has published the sale in a document that is available on the SEC's website. Insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

Inflows of Institutional Capital and Outflows

Recent transactions by hedge funds and institutional investors show that they have bought and sold shares in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool in the first quarter by 14.7%. Acadian Asset Management LLC owns 3,228 of the company's shares valued at $557,000, after purchasing 414 additional shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool from 19.4% to $2,768,000 in the first three months. MetLife Investment Management LLC owns 16,019 of the company’s stock worth $2,768,000. This is after purchasing an additional 2,599 in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public Schools Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings of Whirlpool shares by 3.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owns 7,894 of the company’s stock, valued at $1.364,000. This is after buying an additional 270 share during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings of Whirlpool shares by 2.4% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC owns 11,256 of the company stock, valued at $1.945,000. This is after buying an additional 260 share during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings of Whirlpool shares by 13.4% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. owns now 3,677 shares valued at $635,000. This is after buying an additional 435 during the previous quarter. Institutional investors hold 89.04% the company's shares.

Whirlpool

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Whirlpool Corporation is a multinational corporation that manufactures and sells home appliances, as well as related products, in North America and Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia. The main products of the company are refrigerators, freezers and ice makers; commercial laundry products, laundry accessories and small domestic appliances.

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