North Star Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 2,251 Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

North Star Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Whirlpool by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 27,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,397,000 after purchasing an additional 7,343 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 780,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,083,000 after purchasing an additional 79,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at about $387,000. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.60.

Whirlpool Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WHR traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $104.00. 262,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,272,439. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $98.40 and a 12 month high of $160.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $109.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.46.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.53 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $5.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 80.37%.

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.