Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) by 34.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,700 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,900 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Whirlpool worth $7,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool by 47.3% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Whirlpool by 126.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 24,916 shares of the company's stock worth $2,981,000 after buying an additional 13,893 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 120.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 22,679 shares of the company's stock worth $2,713,000 after buying an additional 12,393 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in Whirlpool by 253.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 4,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 73.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Trading Down 0.9 %

WHR stock traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $108.55. The company had a trading volume of 680,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,140,249. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.58 and a 200 day moving average of $100.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Whirlpool Co. has a 12 month low of $84.18 and a 12 month high of $125.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 1.46.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.44. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.45 EPS. Whirlpool's quarterly revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Whirlpool Co. will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WHR shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.48, for a total transaction of $626,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 41,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,343,233.60. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.05% of the company's stock.

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.