Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WHR. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a d+ rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a buy rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $113.40.

Whirlpool Stock Down 0.4 %

WHR stock opened at $94.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $109.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.79. Whirlpool has a fifty-two week low of $91.90 and a fifty-two week high of $160.62.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 35.16% and a net margin of 2.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 13.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 1.1% in the third quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 4.8% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Whirlpool by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.1% during the third quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 10,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.78% 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.