Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 300 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Courier Capital LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 93.7% in the 2nd quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 26,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,741,000 after acquiring an additional 12,972 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 7,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the second quarter valued at about $266,000. Xcel Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 734.2% during the second quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 57,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,849,000 after buying an additional 50,368 shares during the period. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 29.1% during the second quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 14,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,450,000 after buying an additional 3,195 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Trading Up 4.4 %

NYSE WHR opened at $102.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.29. Whirlpool Co. has a twelve month low of $84.18 and a twelve month high of $142.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.21 EPS. Whirlpool’s quarterly revenue was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 11.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WHR. Bank of America began coverage on Whirlpool in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.75.

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.