Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $220.00.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Institutional Trading of Watts Water Technologies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 977,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $202,425,000 after purchasing an additional 8,314 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 741,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $153,708,000 after purchasing an additional 30,688 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 632,155 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $128,527,000 after purchasing an additional 44,465 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $85,798,000 after purchasing an additional 194,033 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $214.96 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $232.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $209.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.06.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. Research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

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.