AIA Group Ltd Invests $474,000 in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Whirlpool by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 2.6% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in shares of Whirlpool by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $63.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Whirlpool currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.00.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of WHR stock traded up $1.44 on Friday, hitting $109.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 891,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,393,815. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $93.62 and its 200-day moving average is $104.92. Whirlpool Co. has a fifty-two week low of $84.18 and a fifty-two week high of $159.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 1.44.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 35.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.37%. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is 96.42%.

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.