Principle Wealth Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 48.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,245 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 730 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 1.1% in the third quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 4.8% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Whirlpool by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Edmp Inc. grew its position in Whirlpool by 1.1% during the third quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 10,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 3.6% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE:WHR opened at $94.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.57. Whirlpool Co. has a twelve month low of $91.90 and a twelve month high of $160.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 35.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 13.3 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.40.

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.