Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Mueller Water Products from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of MWA stock opened at $25.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.03. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $22.74 and a 12 month high of $31.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.98.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion for the quarter. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 14.17% and a return on equity of 22.11%. Research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 20th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian C. Healy acquired 1,183 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.33 per share, with a total value of $29,965.39. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 24,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $631,882.18. The trade was a 4.98% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter worth about $75,400,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 34.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,036,679 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $165,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530,193 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 112.2% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,267,340 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198,801 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 344.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 945,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,733,000 after purchasing an additional 732,669 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 58.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,934,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,217,000 after purchasing an additional 714,913 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mueller Water Products

Mueller Water Products, Inc is a leading provider of water infrastructure and flow control products and services designed to help water utilities and municipalities manage, control and measure their water distribution systems. The company’s portfolio includes a comprehensive range of products such as fire hydrants, valves, pipe repair systems, fittings and couplings, along with advanced metering and monitoring solutions. By combining traditional mechanical components with digital technologies, Mueller Water Products addresses the critical need for reliable and sustainable water distribution across North America.

The company’s operations are organized around two primary business segments.