Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Whirlpool by 1.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 2nd quarter valued at about $522,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 14.2% during the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Whirlpool during the second quarter valued at approximately $974,000. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Whirlpool news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $626,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.1 %

WHR stock opened at $113.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $126.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.44. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is 69.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.50.

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.