Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives $22.20 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.20.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MWA shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

NYSE MWA opened at $22.09 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.68. The stock has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $13.49 and a fifty-two week high of $26.28.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.62%.

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.