Viking Fund Management LLC Purchases 380 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its position in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 542.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 450 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Whirlpool were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Whirlpool by 190.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 282 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 407 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Whirlpool by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 436 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE:WHR traded down $1.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $100.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,722,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,535. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $160.62. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $93.05 and a 200-day moving average of $105.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WHR. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Whirlpool from $63.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, May 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Whirlpool has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Whirlpool 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.