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

Opinicus Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,539 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Opinicus Capital Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,536,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,775,000 after buying an additional 33,326 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,118,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,470,000 after buying an additional 98,444 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,065,000 after buying an additional 659,014 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,373,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,205,000 after buying an additional 224,990 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,377,000 after acquiring an additional 199,663 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WHR opened at $87.59 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.10 and its 200 day moving average is $98.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $73.72 and a 1 year high of $135.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.95 and a beta of 1.18.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.03. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. Whirlpool’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5,000.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America upgraded Whirlpool from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $94.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.25.

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.