Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $25.05, but opened at $25.60. Mueller Water Products shares last traded at $26.30, with a volume of 792,945 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MWA shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,775,000 after purchasing an additional 208,502 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,467,000 after purchasing an additional 64,399 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth $451,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 28.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,534,000 after buying an additional 77,772 shares in the last quarter. 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.