Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $24.57 and last traded at $24.11, with a volume of 60360 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $22.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.60.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 5.3 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 3.70 and a quick ratio of 2.31.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.10. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.46% and a net margin of 9.71%. The business had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. Mueller Water Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This is a positive change from Mueller Water Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $2,751,046.02. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $11,065,549.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $2,751,046.02. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,065,549.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total transaction of $221,755.05. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 102,792 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,375.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 256,869 shares of company stock valued at $5,141,842 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 3.7% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 757,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,193,000 after buying an additional 27,000 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products in the first quarter worth about $452,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 194.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,033,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,528,000 after purchasing an additional 682,740 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 694,469 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,175,000 after acquiring an additional 83,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 191,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,077,000 after buying an additional 31,739 shares during the last quarter. 91.68% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.