Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.51 and traded as high as $22.74. Mueller Water Products shares last traded at $22.50, with a volume of 708,841 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MWA. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.33 and a quick ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.51.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.22. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. The business had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total value of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total value of $1,488,684.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,424.56. This trade represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 369.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 361.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 266,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 208,502 shares in the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the third quarter worth about $451,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,055 shares in the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.