Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives $25.80 Average PT from Analysts

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.80.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

MWA traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.53. 3,867,992 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,424,956. The company has a quick ratio of 2.38, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. Mueller Water Products has a one year low of $14.81 and a one year high of $28.58.

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Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 21.18% and a net margin of 10.05%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.067 dividend. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 30.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. This trade represents a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,838,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916,552 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 79.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,014,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $90,318,000 after buying an additional 1,780,366 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,996,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Mueller Water Products by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,688,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $60,502,000 after acquiring an additional 888,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 514.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 970,055 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,826,000 after purchasing an additional 812,127 shares during 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.