As of the latest 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, &Gamco Investors INC. ET AL has reported that it has lifted its stake in shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) by a whopping 25%. This push, which culminated at the end of Q4, 2023, saw the fund’s holdings in Whirlpool skyrocket – acquiring an additional 1,000 shares to merge with their existing 5,000 shares for a total worth of $707,000.
Whirlpool Co., which has been under intense scrutiny recently due to misinformation and news reports from various media outlets, is faring much better than anticipated. In fact, The Goldman Sachs Group have upgraded their rating of Whirlpool from “neutral” to “buy”. They also reduced their price objectives for WHR stocks from $170.00 to a more modest $160.00.
That being said, two equities research analysts have given the stock a “sell” rating. Three others have given it only a “hold” rating and one has issued its first-ever buy rating on the stock. Bloomberg shows that WHR currently sustains a consensus rating of “Hold”, with its average price target sitting comfortably at $136.80.
At present time (June 11th), WHR opened at $142.06 on Friday and holds an impressive one-year low and high at $124.10 and $178.05 respectively. It boasts an even debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30 while maintaining steady performance over extended periods – having held fifty-day moving averages priced at around $134.70 and two hundred-day moving averages priced slightly higher than this figure ($140.07). With such numbers backing up Gamco Investors’ willingness to invest so heavily in this company’s future for Q1-2024 –others may soon follow suit on making similar investments themselves.
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Whirlpool Corporation’s Fluctuating Investor Interest and Recent Financial Results
Whirlpool Corporation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and marketers of home appliances, has been experiencing fluctuations in investor interest lately. According to recent SEC filings, large institutional investors have bought or sold Whirlpool stocks in varying degrees over the last few quarters. Geneos Wealth Management Inc., for instance, increased its stake in the company by a staggering 96.2% during Q1 2023 by purchasing an additional 100 shares, now totaling 204 shares worth $35,000. Meanwhile, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in Whirlpool by 526.3%, owning 238 shares valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 200 stocks during the same period.
In contrast to these bullish actions from investment companies, Whirlpool’s EVP Juan Carlos Puente recently sold around $56,347 worth of shares—an intriguing move that may raise eyebrows among some shareholders.
Despite these developments, Whirlpool’s financial reports may inspire confidence as the firm reported better-than-expected earnings results during Q1 this year. The corporation posted $4.65 billion in revenue compared to analysts’ estimates of $4.50 billion and EPS of $2.66 versus expected earnings of around $2.14 per share—helping to buoy investor sentiment.
Goldman Sachs Group has also upgraded Whirlpool from a “neutral” rating to “buy,” and two other research analysts gave the stock a sell rating while three considered it a hold; currently Bloomberg pegs WHR stock with an average price target of around $136.80.
Lastly, on June 15th, Whirlpool issued a quarterly dividend payment to stockholders amounting to $7 per annum—a sum totalling 4.93% yield—though interestingly enough—took place right after EVP Puente sold several share-shares with observations remaining as cautious despite the positive news coverage surrounding Whirlpool’s stocks.