Whirlpool Co. (WHR) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 28th

Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 17th,RTT News reports. Shareholders 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 yield of 6.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Whirlpool has raised its dividend by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years. Whirlpool has a dividend payout ratio of 59.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Price Performance

NYSE WHR opened at $105.17 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $116.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a PE ratio of -17.95 and a beta of 1.43. Whirlpool has a 1 year low of $84.18 and a 1 year high of $135.49.

Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $4.57 earnings per share (EPS) 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 posted $3.85 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Whirlpool will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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