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

Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.50.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James W. Peters sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 41,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,343,233.60. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Whirlpool by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 462,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,248,000 after purchasing an additional 8,244 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Whirlpool by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 25,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,559,000 after purchasing an additional 15,737 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 11,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC purchased a new position in Whirlpool in the second quarter worth $1,152,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Whirlpool by 80.6% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Whirlpool Trading Up 0.7 %

WHR stock opened at $116.55 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $111.05 and a 200-day moving average of $103.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 1.46. Whirlpool has a twelve month low of $84.18 and a twelve month high of $126.30.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 3.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s payout ratio is currently 69.03%.

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.