Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Whirlpool Corporation $WHR

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Whirlpool Corporation by 0.6%, now holding approximately 5.5 million shares, which accounts for about 9.90% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Whirlpool, with Longbow Research upgrading the stock to "buy" at a $145.00 target, while others have issued "sell" ratings and decreased price targets.
• Whirlpool reported disappointing earnings with an EPS of $1.34 for the latest quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue decline of 5.4%.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,503,311 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,807 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.90% of Whirlpool worth $496,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 214,704 shares of the company's stock worth $24,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,930 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 367.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,657 shares of the company's stock worth $8,318,000 after purchasing an additional 57,100 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 4th quarter worth $34,719,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Whirlpool by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,260 shares of the company's stock worth $2,663,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,161 shares of the company's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company's stock.

Whirlpool Price Performance

NYSE WHR traded up $2.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $90.58. 313,657 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,340,832. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.25. The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.29 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Whirlpool Corporation has a 12-month low of $73.72 and a 12-month high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.20). Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 20.81% and a negative net margin of 0.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Whirlpool Corporation will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Whirlpool's payout ratio is -264.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $70.00 target price (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Longbow Research upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Whirlpool from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.83.

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.