Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) Stock Price Up 4.7%

Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA)’s share price traded up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $16.06 and last traded at $16.06. 209,614 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 1,033,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MWA has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mueller Water Products from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Mueller Water Products from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mueller Water Products from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Mueller Water Products Stock Up 4.3 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.57 and its 200 day moving average is $14.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.35.

Mueller Water Products (NYSE:MWA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $256.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.64 million. Mueller Water Products had a return on equity of 13.86% and a net margin of 6.35%. The business’s revenue was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mueller Water Products, Inc. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mueller Water Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.064 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Mueller Water Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Mueller Water Products news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total value of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 41,181 shares in the company, valued at $623,892.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Todd P. Helms sold 37,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total transaction of $560,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 41,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $623,892.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Paul Mcandrew sold 23,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.02, for a total value of $345,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 6,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,649.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 75,419 shares of company stock worth $1,135,416. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Mueller Water Products

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 580.8% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 12,719 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 65.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 28,439 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 11,270 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Mueller Water Products by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 75,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 21,068 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Mueller Water Products in the first quarter worth $2,116,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Mueller Water Products by 56.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 27,589 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.