Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,098,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. LHM Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at $415,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. TheStreet raised Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.60.

Whirlpool Stock Down 10.1 %

NYSE WHR traded down $10.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $94.96. 6,749,008 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,356,952. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $92.54 and a fifty-two week high of $160.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.13.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 38.67% and a net margin of 2.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.37%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is 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.