Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.25 and last traded at $27.90, with a volume of 3297763 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Mueller Water Products from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Mueller Water Products from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.80.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 2.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 2.38.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.25 earnings per share (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 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.067 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Mueller Water Products’s payout ratio is 30.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Brian Slobodow sold 11,132 shares of Mueller Water Products stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.73, for a total transaction of $275,294.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $182,408.48. This trade represents a 60.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lydia W. Thomas sold 17,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 owns 126,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,464.53. The trade was a 11.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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 made changes to their positions in MWA. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 369.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 98,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 77,467 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mueller Water Products by 256.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 42,348 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 30,475 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Mueller Water Products by 364.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 401,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after buying an additional 315,224 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Mueller Water Products by 189.4% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 114,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,491,000 after buying an additional 75,144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Mueller Water Products during the third quarter worth $1,487,000. 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.