Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research 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 $25.80.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after buying an additional 208,502 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.8% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after purchasing an additional 64,399 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 697,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,696,000 after acquiring an additional 50,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 347,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,534,000 after purchasing an additional 77,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MWA opened at $26.65 on Friday. Mueller Water Products has a 1 year low of $14.81 and a 1 year high of $28.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.80. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.99, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.23%.

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.