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

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

Whirlpool has increased its dividend 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. Equities 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

WHR traded up $2.42 on Monday, hitting $103.98. 984,396 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,284,502. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.92 and a 200-day moving average of $108.24. Whirlpool has a 12-month low of $84.18 and a 12-month high of $135.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of -17.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Whirlpool will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.