Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mueller Water Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 4.3 %

Mueller Water Products stock opened at $23.27 on Thursday. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $14.81 and a 12 month high of $28.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.03.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total value of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 87,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 4.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 908,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,725,000 after purchasing an additional 37,095 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth $681,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,317,000 after buying an additional 12,438 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.