Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high 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.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mueller Water Products has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,378 shares of the company's stock, valued at $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Mueller Water Products by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,618,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $197,456,000 after buying an additional 791,569 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,931,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,317,000 after purchasing an additional 12,438 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,538,901 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,809,000 after purchasing an additional 73,069 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Mueller Water Products by 2,962.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,015,009 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $67,838,000 after buying an additional 2,916,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,952,282 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,926,000 after buying an additional 7,567 shares during the period. 91.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mueller Water Products Stock Down 1.8 %

The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 3.83, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.067 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

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.