Short Interest in Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Decreases By 16.3%

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,670,000 shares, a decrease of 16.3% from the November 15th total of 3,190,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $24.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 33.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.37. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $13.49 and a one year high of $26.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.02.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In other news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $88,971.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $346,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,528,000 after acquiring an additional 682,740 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,055,545 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,915,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

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.