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

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.80.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MWA. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 2.8 %

MWA stock opened at $26.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.63. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. 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.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 21.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at $3,391,464.53. This represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 45,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $556,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

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.