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

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $103.75.

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

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE WHR opened at $104.77 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $100.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $99.35. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.44. Whirlpool has a twelve month low of $84.18 and a twelve month high of $132.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.39. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 27.67% and a net margin of 2.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Whirlpool will post 11.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Whirlpool news, EVP Juan Carlos Puente sold 3,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $326,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,070 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.05% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the second quarter worth $32,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Whirlpool during the second quarter valued at $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Whirlpool by 1,010.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 80.6% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

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.