SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 265 Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WHR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Whirlpool by 14.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,019,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,094,000 after acquiring an additional 258,871 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 648.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 112,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,999,000 after purchasing an additional 97,152 shares in the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,275,000. Finally, Financial Sense Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 122.9% during the fourth quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 98,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,290,000 after purchasing an additional 54,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WHR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Whirlpool stock opened at $91.05 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $110.12 and its 200 day moving average is $108.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.54 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $84.18 and a one year high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $3.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is currently -119.45%.

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.