Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on WHR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Whirlpool from $109.00 to $89.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America upgraded Whirlpool from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Whirlpool from $81.00 to $65.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $99.25.

Whirlpool Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WHR traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $91.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,718,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,040,416. 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 $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 652.49 and a beta of 1.18. Whirlpool has a 1 year low of $73.72 and a 1 year high of $135.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $80.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.97.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.67 billion. Whirlpool had a return on equity of 21.38% and a net margin of 0.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Whirlpool will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Whirlpool Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.66%. Whirlpool's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5,000.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Whirlpool

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,536,118 shares of the company's stock worth $633,775,000 after buying an additional 33,326 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 5.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,235,977 shares of the company's stock worth $201,529,000 after buying an additional 117,964 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 57.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,808,744 shares of the company's stock worth $207,065,000 after buying an additional 659,014 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 11.4% in the first quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 1,806,101 shares of the company's stock worth $162,784,000 after buying an additional 184,132 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Whirlpool by 25.5% in the first 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 period. 90.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.