Wall Street Zen Upgrades Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) to Buy

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $374.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $445.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Monday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $417.00 to $397.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $425.00 to $424.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.80.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.2%

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $346.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $355.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.55. Watts Water Technologies has a 52 week low of $262.64 and a 52 week high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The technology company reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.26. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%. The business had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $692.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies will post 12.87 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total value of $394,066.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,828,579.85. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 66.1% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 535 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 16,666.7% during the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 10,060 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,563,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 9.6% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,609 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,591,000 after acquiring an additional 1,632 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures and sells products that manage the safety, efficiency, quality and flow of water in plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, industrial and institutional applications, including new construction, renovation and infrastructure projects.

The company’s offerings include backflow prevention and water pressure management equipment, valves, regulators, drainage and plumbing products, water conditioning and filtration systems, water heaters, and solutions for hydronic heating and cooling.