Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday.

WHR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America raised shares of Whirlpool from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $94.00 in a report on Friday, June 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.25.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE WHR opened at $95.19 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.37. Whirlpool has a 12-month low of $73.72 and a 12-month high of $135.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 679.92 and a beta of 1.18.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.03. Whirlpool had a net margin of 0.04% and a return on equity of 21.38%. The business had revenue of $3.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Whirlpool’s revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Whirlpool will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 664 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 5,328 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 85.1% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 7,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Delta Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth approximately $343,000. 90.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.