Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.51 and traded as high as $22.74. Mueller Water Products shares last traded at $22.50, with a volume of 708,841 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MWA. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $26.00) on shares of Mueller Water Products in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.20.

Mueller Water Products Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.37. 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's 50 day moving average is $23.91 and its 200 day moving average is $21.52.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.22. The company had revenue of $348.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $324.80 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 8.82%. Mueller Water Products's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Mueller Water Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.067 per share. This is an increase from Mueller Water Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products's payout ratio is presently 35.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Suzanne G. Smith sold 26,138 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.99, for a total transaction of $653,188.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,378 shares in the company, valued at $234,356.22. The trade was a 73.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 10,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $263,300.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 136,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,328,282. The trade was a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,433 shares of company stock worth $2,494,144. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 6.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,055,545 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,915,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the second quarter worth $72,000. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Mueller Water Products during the second quarter valued at $552,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 1.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 279,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,010,000 after acquiring an additional 2,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Mueller Water Products in the 2nd quarter worth about $14,040,000. 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.