Whirlpool Co. (WHR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.75 on March 15th

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 17th, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th.

Whirlpool has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years. Whirlpool has a dividend payout ratio of 60.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Whirlpool to earn $10.75 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 65.1%.

Whirlpool Stock Up 3.1 %

WHR opened at $104.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.79 and a beta of 1.43. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.76. Whirlpool has a twelve month low of $84.18 and a twelve month high of $135.49.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WHR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Whirlpool from $103.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com raised Whirlpool from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.00.

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.