StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Xylem (NYSE:XYL)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Xylem (NYSE:XYL – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

XYL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Xylem in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Atlantic Securities raised shares of Xylem from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $129.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 16th. Raymond James cut shares of Xylem from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Xylem from $123.00 to $121.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Xylem from a c rating to a b rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xylem currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $114.80.

Xylem Price Performance

NYSE XYL opened at $94.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.07. Xylem has a 1 year low of $72.08 and a 1 year high of $118.58. The business’s fifty day moving average is $105.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Xylem (NYSE:XYL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.13. Xylem had a net margin of 6.43% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Xylem will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xylem Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Xylem’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 21st. Xylem’s dividend payout ratio is 67.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Patrick Decker sold 56,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.19, for a total transaction of $5,527,900.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 287,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,235,909.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Hayati Yarkadas sold 15,942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.43, for a total value of $1,601,055.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,146 shares in the company, valued at $1,219,822.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Patrick Decker sold 56,298 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.19, for a total transaction of $5,527,900.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 287,564 shares in the company, valued at $28,235,909.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.89% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xylem

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Xylem by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Xylem by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xylem by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Xylem by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Utah Retirement Systems grew its position in shares of Xylem by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 32,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,798,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xylem Company Profile

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Xylem, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and application of engineered technologies for the water industry. It operates through the following business segments: Water Infrastructure, Applied Water, and Measurement and Control Solutions. The Water Infrastructure segment focuses on the transportation, treatment and testing of water.