Analysts Set Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Price Target at $21.60

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Several research firms recently weighed in on MWA. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.8 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $21.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $12.13 and a 1-year high of $23.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 40.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the firm’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 value of $221,755.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total transaction of $175,472.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,699 shares in the company, valued at $691,898.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 256,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,842 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 757,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,193,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter worth about $452,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,528,000 after buying an additional 682,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 694,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,175,000 after buying an additional 83,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 191,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,077,000 after acquiring an additional 31,739 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.