Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) passed 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 equities research analysts recently issued reports on MWA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.91 and its 200 day moving average is $21.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. 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 1.20%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $234,356.22. This represents a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 57,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $1,110,424.56. This represents a 57.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,433 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MWA. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 162,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 19,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,722 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 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.