Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Trading Up 8.6% Following Earnings Beat

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) shares traded up 8.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $24.40 and last traded at $25.07. 132,868 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,161,874 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.08.

The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.80.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $1,488,684.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,424.56. The trade was a 57.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. This represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at about $209,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 4.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 86,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 48.4% during the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 199,172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,569,000 after purchasing an additional 64,975 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 20.3% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 320,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,948,000 after acquiring an additional 53,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 3.2 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

About Mueller Water Products

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.