Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $114.60.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet upgraded Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital started coverage on Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Whirlpool

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 4.8% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. raised its position in Whirlpool by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 10,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

Whirlpool Trading Down 10.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WHR opened at $94.96 on Friday. Whirlpool has a 1 year low of $92.54 and a 1 year high of $160.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $109.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.48.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 36.24% and a net margin of 2.07%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. Analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.37%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is 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.