Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,150,000 shares, a growth of 86.7% from the March 15th total of 3,830,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MWA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In related news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This represents a 60.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.77, for a total transaction of $457,552.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 126,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MWA. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Mueller Water Products by 171.8% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 73.1% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,558 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Mueller Water Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in Mueller Water Products during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Stock Performance

Mueller Water Products stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $24.37. 450,422 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,576,832. Mueller Water Products has a 12-month low of $15.76 and a 12-month high of $28.58. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a current ratio of 3.83. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.26.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mueller Water Products will post 1.24 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is currently 30.23%.

About Mueller Water Products

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.