Kovack Advisors Inc. Takes $288,000 Position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Whirlpool by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised 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 worth $72,917,000 after purchasing an additional 223,232 shares in the last quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth about $343,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 7,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 7,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 3,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR opened at $101.90 on Friday. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $84.18 and a one year high of $135.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.39 and a beta of 1.43.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.85 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.87%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is presently -119.45%.

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.