Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $33.00 price objective on Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.75 per share, for a total transaction of $30,024.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $611,897.25. The trade was a 5.16% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 10,720 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.61, for a total transaction of $295,979.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,780,209.97. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MWA. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,400,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 34.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $165,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530,193 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 112.2% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,267,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198,801 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 344.1% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 945,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,733,000 after acquiring an additional 732,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 58.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,934,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,217,000 after acquiring an additional 714,913 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE MWA opened at $25.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $27.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.08. Mueller Water Products has a 1-year low of $22.74 and a 1-year high of $31.00.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 22.11% and a net margin of 14.17%. Equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 21.37%.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.