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

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 17th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of 1.75 per share on Saturday, March 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.73%.

Whirlpool has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years. Whirlpool has a payout ratio of 59.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Whirlpool to earn $11.23 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 62.3%.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

NYSE WHR traded up $2.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $103.98. The stock had a trading volume of 984,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,284,502. Whirlpool has a 52-week low of $84.18 and a 52-week high of $135.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.92 and a 200 day moving average of $108.24. 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 $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Whirlpool will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $101.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.80.

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.