Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WHR shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Whirlpool from $63.00 to $75.00 in a report on Friday, May 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WHR. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 15,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 23,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 42.0% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA increased its stake in Whirlpool by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA now owns 3,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:WHR opened at $102.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $92.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.51. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $160.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.17. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.07% and a return on equity of 35.16%. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 12.37 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 96.42%.

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.