Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR) Stock Price Down 5.9% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Whirlpool Co. (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) dropped 5.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $91.60 and last traded at $92.64. Approximately 1,101,836 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the average daily volume of 1,093,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WHR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Whirlpool from $125.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Whirlpool from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.00.

Whirlpool Stock Performance

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 firm's 50-day moving average is $111.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.69. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.21 and a beta of 1.44.

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Whirlpool (NYSE:WHR - Get Free Report) last released 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 negative net margin of 1.95% and a positive return on equity of 21.89%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Whirlpool Co. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Whirlpool Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.37%. Whirlpool's payout ratio is -119.45%.

Institutional Trading of Whirlpool

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WHR. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in Whirlpool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 39,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,268,000 after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Whirlpool in the 3rd quarter valued at about $313,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Whirlpool by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 5,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.78% of the company's stock.

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.