I recently made the first stock purchase of 2023 for my Portfolio.  As I always do, I’m sharing the details.

I can’t say I’ve been watching this stock for very long.  In fact, just about a week ago I was perusing the most recent monthly dividend report over at Life With Dividends and came across this stock in his list of dividend payers for the month.

The stock was his 2nd largest dividend payer for December.  Next thing I know, I’m researching the company, liking what I see, and subsequently figuring out an entry point that could work for me.

I liked the current yield and recent dividend growth for this Consumer Discretionary stock.  Further research had me liking its other metrics, too.

Days later, the stock price took a dip, to right around my target price, and I made my move.  Now I’ve got another stock for my growing Portfolio.

Let’s get to the details for my 1st purchase of the year…

 

Whirlpool (WHR)

Whirlpool manufactures and markets household appliances and related products.  The company’s primary products include refrigerators, freezers and ice makers; cooking and other small domestic appliances such as mixers; laundry appliances; and dishwasher appliances.  Of course, Whirlpool sells plenty of related accessories to go along with these larger ticket items, too.

The company currently operates in all parts of the world, with operating segments in North America, Latin America, Asia and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).  Note, however, that Whirlpool recently decided to divest most of its EMEA operations.

Whirlpool manufactures many recognizable brands, such as Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, JennAir and Amana in the U.S. alone.  The company sells its products to retailers, distributors, dealers, builders, other manufacturers, and directly to consumers as well.

The company was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  WHR is a mid-cap stock with a market cap over $8 billion.

Earnings growth and margins have been under pressure in the past year, and the company has earnings headwinds for the next 1-3 years according to analysts, but the stock’s decline since May 2021 has made WHR look attractive to me.  I’m willing to wait things out given the generous yield.

On 1/19/23, I initiated my WHR position by purchasing 6 shares at $145.50/sh., for a total of $873.00.  The stock yielded 4.81% at my purchase price, or about 2 percentage points greater than my overall Portfolio yield of 2.75%.

The purchase added $42.00 to my annual forward dividend income.  My first dividend payment from WHR will arrive in March!

WHR is now my 6th holding in the Consumer Discretionary sector.  It starts as the smallest position in my Portfolio, too, behind my previous smallest position of NextEra Energy (NEE).

While I don’t see WHR becoming a huge position in my Portfolio, I can see the size of my WHR position growing to some degree, especially since it’s currently my smallest position.  Therefore, I’ll be on the lookout for additional buying opportunities.

 

As I normally do with a new holding, let’s take a quick look at the dividend growth history dating back to 2000…

 

 

In the 2000s, WHR didn’t have a dividend growth rate to get excited about at all.  The company raised its dividend just once during the decade.

However, dividend growth has heated up since 2010.  WHR is now on a 12-year dividend growth streak, establishing some nice dividend growth rates over all the operating periods I show.

The last dividend raise for WHR was back in February, and it was an impressive 25% increase.  I can’t see that happening again this year, but if WHR can manage a boost in the mid-to-upper single digits then I’d be happy.

Dividend safety for WHR is rated ‘Safe’ by Simply Safe Dividends (score of 70 out of 99).  This safe rating is buoyed by solid dividend coverage (payout ratio around 35%) and a favorable long-term outlook.

The addition of WHR raised the number of my Portfolio stocks to an even 60.

 

Summary

It was a standalone purchase to kick off my Portfolio transaction activity in 2023.  Better yet, it was a new stock for my Portfolio.

I initiated a position in Whirlpool (WHR).  This is probably a familiar name for many of you, as you may very well own one or more of the appliances this company manufactures in your kitchen or laundry area.

I started my position by buying 6 shares.  This resulted in an $873 investment.  I usually initiate new positions by investing north of $1K, but that was not the case here.  You could say I’m just dipping my toes in the water while I now watch the company more closely thanks to it being a part of my Portfolio.

WHR yielded a stellar 4.81% at my purchase price.  My annual forward dividend income rose by a solid $42.

Since WHR is a new Portfolio holding, the number of stocks in my Portfolio increased by one to 60.

 

Do you have WHR in your dividend portfolio?  Have you already made your first portfolio transaction of 2023?  I look forward to your comments!