Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) Receives $21.60 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Several research firms have issued reports on MWA. TD Cowen lowered Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Mueller Water Products from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mueller Water Products

In other news, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total transaction of $2,751,046.02. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,065,549.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Thomas J. Hansen sold 10,791 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.55, for a total value of $221,755.05. Following the transaction, the director now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider J Scott Hall sold 135,253 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.34, for a total value of $2,751,046.02. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,065,549.86. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 256,869 shares of company stock worth $5,141,842. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mueller Water Products

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,231,209 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $245,070,000 after buying an additional 227,843 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,143,039 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,571,000 after purchasing an additional 15,346 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Mueller Water Products by 399.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,962,757 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,055 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 24.6% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,999,869 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,838,000 after purchasing an additional 395,123 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 6.1% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.68% of the company's stock.

Mueller Water Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MWA traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.03. 910,798 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,253,461. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $21.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.21. Mueller Water Products has a 12 month low of $12.13 and a 12 month high of $23.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.34.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.32 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 firm had revenue of $356.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $329.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Mueller Water Products will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Mueller Water Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.06%.

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.