Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 305 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,089 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 190.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Whirlpool in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Whirlpool in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.40.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of Whirlpool stock opened at $94.89 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.87. Whirlpool Co. has a 1-year low of $91.90 and a 1-year high of $160.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56. The company has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.52.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 35.16%. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.53 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is presently 96.42%.

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.