Whitebox Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Whitebox Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,528,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 5,328 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Whirlpool by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 636,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,917,000 after buying an additional 223,232 shares during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at about $343,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 99.4% in the fourth quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 8,125 shares of the company's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Whirlpool by 1,188.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,805 shares of the company's stock worth $550,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Whirlpool from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.00.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of WHR stock traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.11. 323,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,429. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $86.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72. Whirlpool Co. has a 12-month low of $73.72 and a 12-month high of $135.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.99 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 9.20%. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.