Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Stock Price Down 1.8% – Here’s Why

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)’s share price fell 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $80.25 and last traded at $81.15. 161,452 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,044,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WHR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com lowered Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.00.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.21.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.03. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Whirlpool’s revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.51%. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is 5,000.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WHR. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth approximately $82,461,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,065,000 after acquiring an additional 659,014 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 4th quarter worth $73,468,000. Causeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 1st quarter worth $32,788,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Whirlpool by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,723,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,343,000 after buying an additional 350,397 shares during 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.