Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $22.46 and last traded at $22.44, with a volume of 235846 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.64 and a 200-day moving average of $18.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $356.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.67 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.064 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,112,375.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 8,800 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.94, for a total value of $175,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,898.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,649,000. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,217,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,999,000. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

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.