Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) to Issue $1.75 Quarterly Dividend

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 15th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of 1.75 per share on Saturday, June 15th. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.57%.

Whirlpool has increased its dividend by an average of 21.7% annually over the last three years. Whirlpool has a payout ratio of 47.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Whirlpool to earn $14.71 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 47.6%.

Whirlpool Price Performance

NYSE:WHR traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,001,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,305,392. Whirlpool has a 52-week low of $98.40 and a 52-week high of $160.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $110.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.53 by $0.32. Whirlpool had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 38.67%. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.89 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WHR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “d+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Whirlpool in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $120.00 to $111.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $92.00 to $85.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Whirlpool presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.60.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Whirlpool in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Whirlpool by 716.7% in the first quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 96.2% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 204 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Whirlpool by 526.3% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE bought a new position in Whirlpool in the second quarter worth about $46,000. 90.78% of the stock is currently 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.