LSV Asset Management Trims Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

LSV Asset Management cut its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,684,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,235 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $205,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 3.6% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Whirlpool by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WHR traded up $1.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.56. 1,040,809 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,408,070. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $91.90 and a 1 year high of $160.62. The company has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $107.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.59.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.17. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 35.16%. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.33%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is 96.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on WHR shares. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.