Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 316 Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 41,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,007,000 after purchasing an additional 6,984 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth about $1,054,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 471.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 69,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,262,000 after purchasing an additional 56,978 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth about $10,369,000. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WHR. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of 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. According to MarketBeat, Whirlpool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.75.

Whirlpool Price Performance

WHR opened at $100.62 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.96. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $138.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86 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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.39. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 27.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 11.31 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.96%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Whirlpool

In other Whirlpool news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $326,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,907,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.