WHR Stock: Blue-Chip Dividend Stock Selling at a Deep Discount
April 14, 2025
A Window of Opportunity for Income Investors?
These days, investors seem to be chasing the same names—tech giants, AI plays, and whatever stock that just started surging because it was talked about on some message board.
But there’s something investors shouldn’t forget: real wealth in investing can often come from doing the opposite of what the crowd’s doing.
Take a look at Whirlpool Corp (NYSE:WHR), for example. It could be a great contrarian opportunity.
WHR stock isn’t flashy. It doesn’t dominate headlines. But what it does have is a solid business model, strong free cash flow, and a dividend that income investors can count on.
Even better: the stock is trading at depressed levels. Investors are ditching it—WHR stock is down close to 30% year to date. Income investors could really use this to their advantage.
Whirlpool: A Household Name
Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Whirlpool is hands down one of the biggest and most well-known home appliance companies in the world. It operates in North America, Latin America, Asia, and other international markets.
Whirlpool products include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, dryers, ovens, stoves, and dishwashers, and mixers and other small kitchen appliances, as well as appliance parts and accessories such as water filters and cleaning products.
The company offers its products under several brands, such as “Whirlpool,” “Maytag,” “KitchenAid,” “JennAir,” “Amana,” and “InSinkErator.”
Whirlpool sell its products through major retailers, homebuilders, and distributors and directly to customers. (Source: “Profile,” Yahoo! Finance, last accessed April 10, 2025.)
WHR Stock Under Pressure Now, But Looking Attractive
If you look at the WHR stock chart, you’ll see the stock is really under pressure.
WHR is trading below its 50-week moving average (MA) and the 200-week MA. These MAs suggest that the intermediate-term and long-term trends are pointing lower and investors sentiment is bleak.
Investors are so pessimistic on the stock that WHR now trades at its lowest level since 2020.
Chart Courtesy of StockCharts.com
Why are investors panic-selling WHR stock?
Well, mortgage rates are rising, which has hurt the housing market and renovations sector significantly. And both of these factors impact the demand for the appliances Whirlpool sells.
Plus now, with all the noise around tariffs potentially causing a recession in the U.S. economy and slowing the global economy, investors are asking if WHR stock is a good place to be.
On top of all this, Whirlpool reporting a sales decline between 2021 and 2024 isn’t calming any nerves.
Wall Street analysts aren’t helping either; they are expecting sales to drop again in 2025 and bounce a little bit in 2026. (Source: “Analysis,” Yahoo! Finance, last accessed April 10, 2025.)
But, despite all of this, it is important to note that Whirlpool has remained profitable, and it’s expected to make money going forward despite the decline in sales in 2025. Moreover, the company continues to make robust free cash flow. Whirlpool isn’t in trouble; it’s just that investors have turned against its stock. So this decline actually makes WHR stock compelling.
If one believes that interest rates will come down and the housing market will stabilize, then Whirlpool is positioned for recovery, and more.
Selling at a Very Deep Discount
WHR stock is almost exactly what value investors are looking for in a stock.
How so?
It’s trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.02, a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of just 1.75, and price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.28. All of these ratios are below their respective five-year averages. (Source: “Valuation,” MorningStar, last accessed April 10, 2025.)
Looking at these valuation measures among others, it almost seems as if investors are pricing in the worst-case scenario here.
However, they might be ignoring Whirlpool’s market share, brand recognition, inventory, profit margins, and ability to manage costs. Remember: this company has been around for over 100 years, so it has seen all manner of economic slowdown and financial market volatility situations.
Income Investors Paid Well to Hold This Blue-Chip Pick
WHR stock’s dividend is very attractive; income investors can get paid a decent income to wait.
At the current price, WHR stock has a dividend yield of 8.9%. This is a substantial payout from a quality company that’s just going through a rough phase for now. Make no mistake: this is not a “yield trap.”
Whirlpool pays a quarterly dividend of $1.75 per share, which amounts to $7.00 per share on annual basis. Even better: WHR stock has a very long track record of paying dividends—over 30 years—and consistently pays out no matter the economic conditions.
In addition to all this, over time, Whirlpool has also raised dividends. And the company rewards investors in the form of buybacks from time to time.
The Lowdown on WHR Stock
While investors are chasing artificial intelligence stocks and other trends, WHR stock seems like a compelling opportunity. There’s no denying that the stock hasn’t done well, and investors have every right to panic with sales having dropped and overall macroeconomic conditions not being in favor of Whirlpool at the moment.
But it’s important to understand that economic cycles change—they do not last forever. We know interest rates have peaked, there could be cuts coming in the near future, and housing is starting to show signs of some stability. This is all good news for WHR stock.
Don’t forget: WHR stock is backed by a fundamentally strong company, with a strong brand, solid profitability, robust cash flow, and a history of navigating through challenges. For a contrarian income investor, WHR stock could be a great place to be.
