Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Shares Acquired by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Whirlpool by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 15,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in Whirlpool by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.80.

Whirlpool Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WHR opened at $106.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.30. Whirlpool Co. has a 12-month low of $84.18 and a 12-month high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.85 EPS. Research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.60%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently -119.45%.

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.