Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Position Reduced by Barrett & Company Inc.

Barrett & Company Inc. cut its position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 37.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Barrett & Company Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 160.0% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 716.7% in the 1st quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

WHR stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $115.34. 683,563 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,708,174. Whirlpool Co. has a twelve month low of $98.40 and a twelve month high of $160.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.48.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.53 by $0.32. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 2.47%. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. Whirlpool’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.07%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is 80.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WHR. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital assumed coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $122.17.

About Whirlpool

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.