Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $27.35 and last traded at $26.92, with a volume of 5664024 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 16.6 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 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 (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 0.3% during the third 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 during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

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.