Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Hits New 1-Year High at $21.51

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $21.51 and last traded at $21.45, with a volume of 144752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MWA shares. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 3.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.44 and a 200-day moving average of $18.41.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.064 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 39.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,898.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,231,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,070,000 after acquiring an additional 227,843 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,143,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,571,000 after purchasing an additional 15,346 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Mueller Water Products by 399.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,512,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,182,000 after buying an additional 115,963 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,423,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,901,000 after buying an additional 366,264 shares in the last quarter. 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.