Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $21.29 and last traded at $21.3250, with a volume of 239380 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.40.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 4.64, a quick ratio of 3.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.11. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. The company had revenue of $395.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.34 earnings per share. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total value of $291,923.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $746,865.52. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul McAndrew sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total transaction of $1,055,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,052.84. This trade represents a 48.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 52,598 shares of company stock worth $1,360,685. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 12,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,470 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 89.5% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 11,727 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc designs and manufactures products used to support the operation, maintenance, and monitoring of water distribution and wastewater infrastructure. Its offerings include gate, butterfly, and check valves; fire hydrants; pipe fittings; and related products used to control and manage the flow of water through municipal and other utility systems.

The company also provides technologies and services intended to help utilities monitor their networks, identify leaks, improve asset management, and enhance operational efficiency.