Xponance Inc. Decreases Position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 397 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 41,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,007,000 after acquiring an additional 6,984 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the first quarter worth $1,054,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 471.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 69,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,262,000 after buying an additional 56,978 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Whirlpool during the 1st quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Whirlpool in the 1st quarter worth $10,369,000. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WHR. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Whirlpool from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Whirlpool

In other news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $326,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Whirlpool stock opened at $107.66 on Monday. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.18 and a fifty-two week high of $135.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.39. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 27.67% and a net margin of 2.89%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 11.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.42%.

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.