Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.20.

Several research firms have weighed in on MWA. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 136,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,328,282. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at about $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 341.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 5,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 4,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 434.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MWA opened at $22.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.58. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $13.49 and a 12 month high of $26.28.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is 35.62%.

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.