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

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $103.75.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Whirlpool from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of WHR opened at $103.21 on Friday. Whirlpool has a 52 week low of $84.18 and a 52 week high of $132.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.59 and a 200-day moving average of $99.75.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.39. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.89% and a return on equity of 27.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Whirlpool will post 11.31 EPS for the current year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.78%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Whirlpool news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of Whirlpool stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $326,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,907,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WHR. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Whirlpool by 1,257.1% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Whirlpool during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. 90.78% of the stock is currently 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.