Federated Hermes Inc. Acquires 35,957 Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,895 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,957 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.33% of Whirlpool worth $18,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,729,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,964,000 after purchasing an additional 26,630 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its position in Whirlpool by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,169,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,354,000 after buying an additional 103,909 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 462,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,248,000 after buying an additional 8,244 shares during the last quarter. FIFTHDELTA Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the first quarter worth $50,986,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 73.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 321,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,408,000 after acquiring an additional 135,740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WHR shares. Bank of America started coverage on Whirlpool in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Whirlpool from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.75.

Whirlpool Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of WHR opened at $98.59 on Monday. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $138.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $99.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $100.15.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.39. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 27.67%. Whirlpool’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 11.31 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.10%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $326,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.