Norges Bank Invests $73.47 Million in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Norges Bank 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 641,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,468,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WHR. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Whirlpool by 323.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Whirlpool by 113.6% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WHR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.00.

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR opened at $90.66 on Thursday. Whirlpool Co. has a twelve month low of $84.18 and a twelve month high of $135.49. The firm has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.47 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.95.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.72%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently -119.45%.

Whirlpool Company 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.