Mueller Water Products, Inc. Announces Dividend of $0.07 (NYSE:MWA)

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) announced a dividend on Tuesday, October 22nd, NASDAQ reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.067 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, November 20th. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

Mueller Water Products has raised its dividend payment by an average of 5.1% per year over the last three years. Mueller Water Products has a dividend payout ratio of 25.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Mueller Water Products to earn $1.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.5%.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MWA stock traded down $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $22.03. 910,798 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,253,461. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $12.13 and a 12-month high of $23.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a current ratio of 3.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.19.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last released its 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 net margin of 9.71% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The company had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mueller Water Products will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mueller Water Products news, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total value of $1,993,568.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $10,630,326.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 102,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.54, for a total transaction of $1,993,568.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at $10,630,326.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Mueller Water Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.60.

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.