Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Shares Down 5.9% – What’s Next?

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR)’s stock price fell 5.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $91.60 and last traded at $92.64. 1,101,836 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 1,093,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of -15.49 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $113.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.97.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.31. Whirlpool had a positive return on equity of 21.89% and a negative net margin of 1.95%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Whirlpool’s dividend payout ratio is presently -119.45%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Whirlpool by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,536,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,775,000 after acquiring an additional 33,326 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,118,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,470,000 after acquiring an additional 98,444 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Whirlpool by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,065,000 after purchasing an additional 659,014 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Whirlpool by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,650,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,591,000 after purchasing an additional 15,752 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Whirlpool by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,373,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,205,000 after acquiring an additional 224,990 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.78% of the company’s stock.

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.