Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $220.00.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WTS. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,967 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 55,351 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,465,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 6,374 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $214.96 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies has a 52-week low of $175.37 and a 52-week high of $232.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $209.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.06.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. As a group, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.