Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “sector perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $30.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $29.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, 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 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.40.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

MWA opened at $21.89 on Friday. Mueller Water Products has a 52-week low of $20.90 and a 52-week high of $31.00. The company has a quick ratio of 3.08, a current ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.41.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $395.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.49 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 23.55%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is currently 19.86%.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Christine Ortiz sold 12,048 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.23, for a total value of $291,923.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Paul McAndrew sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total value of $1,055,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,052.84. The trade was a 48.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 52,598 shares of company stock worth $1,360,685 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MWA. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 421 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the 1st quarter worth $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Company Profile

Mueller Water Products, Inc develops and manufactures products used to build, maintain and monitor water transmission and distribution systems. Its offerings help utilities and other infrastructure operators control water flow, connect and repair pipelines, manage pressure and identify leaks.

The company’s product portfolio includes water valves, fire hydrants, pipe fittings and repair products, metering and monitoring systems, leak-detection technologies, and related flow-control equipment.