GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 20,810.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,503 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,228 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.10% of Whirlpool worth $5,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Whirlpool by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 664 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Whirlpool by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,752,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in Whirlpool by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,500,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its position in Whirlpool by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WHR. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America raised Whirlpool from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $99.25.

Whirlpool Stock Up 3.1%

WHR traded up $2.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.26. 2,581,089 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,037,848. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company's fifty day moving average price is $80.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.34. The company has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.40 and a beta of 1.18. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $73.72 and a one year high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio is presently 5,000.00%.

Whirlpool 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.