Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $29.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Mueller Water Products traded as high as $27.35 and last traded at $26.92, with a volume of 5664024 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.08.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mueller Water Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 3,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total transaction of $88,971.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $967,848.66. This represents a 8.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders 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

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MWA. Arizona State Retirement System increased 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 worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake 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 valued at $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 11,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.68% of the company’s stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

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 capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.06. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 36.99%.

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.