Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) Stock

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) had its target price increased by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $202.00 to $218.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential downside of 1.14% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on WTS. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.4 %

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $220.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.92. Watts Water Technologies has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $222.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $207.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 14,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,737,557.60. The trade was a 19.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watts Water Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 316,407 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $65,556,000 after purchasing an additional 9,148 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,967 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,121,000 after purchasing an additional 28,170 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth $2,897,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,507,000 after acquiring an additional 87,900 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.