Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a d+ rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Whirlpool from $85.00 to $79.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital initiated coverage on Whirlpool in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a buy rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $113.40.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

Shares of Whirlpool stock opened at $96.86 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.48. 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 has a twelve month low of $91.90 and a twelve month high of $160.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $108.92 and its 200 day moving average is $112.38.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.42 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 35.16% and a net margin of 2.07%. The business’s revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Whirlpool will post 13.3 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given 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 dividend yield of 7.23%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.42%.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Whirlpool by 19.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 90,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,095,000 after acquiring an additional 14,851 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Whirlpool by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 79,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,733,000 after buying an additional 25,541 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter valued at $6,373,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 4.7% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 428,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,253,000 after buying an additional 19,036 shares during the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.