Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $18.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Baird R W raised Mueller Water Products to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.00.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.24. 775,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,210,970. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. Mueller Water Products has a twelve month low of $12.11 and a twelve month high of $19.43. The company has a current ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.61.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.15. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 8.10%. The firm had revenue of $353.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.62 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In related news, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $976,247.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 34,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian C. Healy bought 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.18 per share, for a total transaction of $50,827.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,827. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenji Takeuchi sold 51,708 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $976,247.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 34,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $660,648.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 13.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 694,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,175,000 after buying an additional 83,567 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 73.7% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 31,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 13,525 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 757,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,193,000 after acquiring an additional 27,000 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,143,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,571,000 after purchasing an additional 15,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.