Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,263 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 5,328 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 636,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,917,000 after acquiring an additional 223,232 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at about $343,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 99.4% in the fourth quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 8,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 1.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 440,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,099,000 after acquiring an additional 6,049 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Whirlpool Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of WHR stock opened at $94.61 on Thursday. Whirlpool Co. has a 12-month low of $84.18 and a 12-month high of $135.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.15 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.85 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.40%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently -119.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

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.