Kovack Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

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

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth $343,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,488 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WHR stock opened at $101.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. Whirlpool Co. has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $135.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.84. The firm 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share (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 period last year, the company posted $3.85 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently -119.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WHR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.00.

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.