Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.20.

Several brokerages recently commented on MWA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MWA opened at $21.68 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.33. Mueller Water Products has a 52-week low of $13.49 and a 52-week high of $26.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.95 and a 200 day moving average of $21.68.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The business had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. Mueller Water Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $234,356.22. This trade represents a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This trade represents a 8.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 434.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 468.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 4,456 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.