Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $436,000 Investment in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,065,000 after acquiring an additional 659,014 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at $73,468,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter worth $34,719,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,373,215 shares of the company's stock worth $157,205,000 after purchasing an additional 224,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 636,937 shares of the company's stock worth $72,917,000 after purchasing an additional 223,232 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Whirlpool from $107.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.75.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WHR traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.93. 871,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,027,092. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.98 and a beta of 1.20. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $73.72 and a 1 year high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.67 billion. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. The business's revenue was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.54%. Whirlpool's payout ratio is 5,000.00%.

Whirlpool Company 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.