Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $976,247.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $660,648.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy purchased 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $50,827.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at $50,827. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $976,247.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,509,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at $14,642,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at $1,018,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Pearl River Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at $408,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $17.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 3.53 and a quick ratio of 2.08. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $12.11 and a 1-year high of $19.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.71.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $353.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $299.62 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 16.97%. Mueller Water Products’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were issued a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.63%.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc manufactures and markets products and services for the transmission, distribution, and measurement of water used by municipalities, and the residential and non-residential construction industries in the United States, Israel, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Water Flow Solutions and Water Management Solutions.