Palouse Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Palouse Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 5.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 371 shares during the quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 335.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 188,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,170,000 after acquiring an additional 145,200 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 69.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 492 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 7.5% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 10,704 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 66.7% during the third quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Whirlpool by 0.6% during the third quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 83,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,904,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Whirlpool

In related news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $326,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE:WHR traded down $1.94 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $105.23. 429,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Whirlpool Co. has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $130.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $101.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.04.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 27.67% and a net margin of 2.89%. The company’s revenue was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 11.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.65%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 72.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WHR. Bank of America assumed coverage on Whirlpool in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.75.

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.