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

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research 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 brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.20.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lowered Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Insider Activity at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,112,375.60. The trade was a 9.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $76,809,000 after buying an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 19.8% in the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 390,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,467,000 after acquiring an additional 64,399 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Mueller Water Products by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 10,801 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.5 %

MWA stock opened at $24.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products has a fifty-two week low of $13.08 and a fifty-two week high of $26.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.12.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22. The firm had revenue of $348.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s 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.