Truffle Hound Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 40,000 Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Truffle Hound Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,579,000. Whirlpool comprises 1.6% of Truffle Hound Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Truffle Hound Capital LLC owned about 0.07% of Whirlpool at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Whirlpool by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 10,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 98,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,220,000 after purchasing an additional 11,824 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 9,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 56,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,433,000 after purchasing an additional 2,685 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of WHR opened at $93.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Whirlpool Co. has a one year low of $84.18 and a one year high of $135.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.94 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $107.04 and a 200 day moving average of $108.14.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently -119.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WHR. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

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.