Financial Sense Advisors Inc. Has $11.29 Million Stock Holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Financial Sense Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 122.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,616 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,368 shares during the quarter. Whirlpool accounts for approximately 3.7% of Financial Sense Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. owned about 0.18% of Whirlpool worth $11,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 69.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 492 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Whirlpool by 335.3% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 188,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,170,000 after purchasing an additional 145,200 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Whirlpool by 5.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Whirlpool by 25.8% during the third quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 17,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,910,000 after buying an additional 3,666 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 17.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WHR shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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 assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.80.

Whirlpool Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Whirlpool stock opened at $106.02 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $115.76 and a 200 day moving average of $108.32. Whirlpool Co. has a 52 week low of $84.18 and a 52 week high of $135.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business posted $3.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.60%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -119.45%.

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.